Dow breaks 13,000 but can’t hold gains
By CHRISTINA REXRODE AP Business Writer February 21, 2012 5:22PM
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. U.S. stocks are opening higher and the Dow Jones industrial average is nearing 13,000 after Greece secured a bailout deal to keep it from default. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Updated: February 21, 2012 5:22PM
NEW YORK — It came and went in a flash, a number on a board for seconds at a time, but its symbolic power couldn’t be dismissed.
The Dow Jones industrial average, powered higher all year by optimism that the economic recovery is finally for real, crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008.
The last time the Dow occupied such rarefied territory, unemployment was a healthy 5.4 percent, and Lehman Brothers was a solvent investment bank. Financial crises happened in other countries, or the history books.
The milestone Tuesday came about two hours into the trading day. The Dow was above 13,000 for about 30 seconds, and for slightly longer at about noon and 1:30 p.m., but couldn’t hold its gains. It finished up 15.82 points at 12,965.69.
Still, Wall Street took note of the marker.
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