Dow Briefly Trades Above Record Close

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 -- The Dow Jones industrial average reached a milestone during its fourth straight advance Thursday, briefly trading above its record high close of 11,722.98 set on Jan. 14, 2000. The index of 30 blue-chip stocks hit 11,728.46 early in the day.

By day's end, the Dow had fallen back, rising 29.21, or 0.25 percent, to close at 11,718.45. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 2.56, or 0.19 percent, to close at 1339.15, a 5 1/2 -year high. The Nasdaq composite index, which rose 6.63, or 0.29 percent, to 2270.02, is not expected to approach its high any time soon.

The last time the Dow stood at these levels, Wall Street was propelled by the dot-com and housing booms. Traders raced to buy any stocks that looked remotely promising, pushing the major indexes higher. But after early 2000, the market began to crumble. Signs of recession accelerated the decline, and then the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their aftermath, including earnings declines and losses in many industries, sent stocks plunging. Corporate scandals, including the collapse of Enron and WorldCom, also shook Wall Street. The Dow hit a five-year closing low Oct. 9, 2002, nearly 38 percent off its record high close.

Wall Street has made its way back slowly, with investors behaving more cautiously and limiting their exposure to risk as they regained faith in stocks. Four years of sturdy corporate profit growth has also helped.

Movers

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General Motors rose 78 cents, to $33.06, after dissident shareholder Kirk Kerkorian said he was interested in buying up to 12 million more shares of the company as he presses it to enter a three-way alliance with Renault and Nissan.

Hewlett-Packard rose 58 cents, to $35.97, after the company announced the resignation of general counsel Ann Baskins. Congress is scrutinizing the company's corporate spying probe.

American Greetings fell $2.21, to $22.83, after reporting a second-quarter loss compared with a profit in the same period a year ago, partly from new marketing and operational initiatives.

Indexes

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New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 14.16, to 8490.68.

American Stock Exchange index fell 0.64, to 1916.92.

Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 0.02, to 732.56.

Volume

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NYSE: 2.36 billion shares, down from 2.76 billion on Wednesday. Advancers outnumbered decliners 8 to 7.

Nasdaq: 1.87 billion shares, down from 2.05 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners 10 to 9.

Commodities

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Crude oil for November delivery: $62.76, down 20 cents.

Gold for current delivery: $605.00 a troy ounce, up from $597.30 on Wednesday.