So much excitement! The WSJ: "Blue Chips Reclaim 10000. Bloomberg: "Dow Exceeds 10000." NYT: "Dow Regains a Milestone."
Yes, at 1:21 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 10,000 for the first time in a year, and there was great rejoicing throughout the land. One minute later, it sank back under, and sorrow and desolation swept across Wall Street, and the people rent their garments and tore their hair as they were thrust anew into darkness.
What can be said about such an arbitrary fact as the breaching of the 10,000 barrier? Other than the obvious, of course, which is that humans are masters of investing arbitrary symbols with profound, life-changing meaning. Investors seem to be delighted at JP Morgan's strong profits, Intel's better-than-expected numbers and the news that retail spending did not fall by as much as expected. Then again, tomorrow they may get all gloomy-doomy about the new jobless claims numbers. These are fickle times, and emotions are on tenterhooks. Best, maybe, just to look away.
UPDATE: In the interests of closure, if not worthiness, let it be noted that the Dow ended up closing at 10015.86.
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