Reply #42: Stock prices fall after Dow milestone [View All]

[Ghost Dog]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060928/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street;_ylt=A0SOwl_H.RtFyBEAngayBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

By ELLEN SIMON, AP Business Writer 18 minutes ago

NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average topped its record-high close this morning, reaching a milestone in Wall Street's recovery from nearly seven years of corporate upheaval, economic recession and the impact of terrorism. The high close was 11,722.98 set on Jan. 14, 2000.

Shortly after the index of 30 blue chip stocks surpassed its record, rising to 11,724.86 in early morning trading, stocks dropped amid a dearth of news that could motivate investors.

"These numbers sometimes tend to act as magnets and the market it sometimes pulled up toward it," said Russ Koesterich, senior portfolio manager at Barclays Global Investments in San Francisco.

In midday trading, the Dow was down 26.74, or 0.23 percent, at 11,662.50. It has yet to reach its all-time trading high of 11,750.28, also set Jan. 14, 2000.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes are far off their highs, although their records were reached around the same time.

The S&P, down 2.37, or 0.01 percent, at 1,334.22, is still about 193 points below its closing high of 1,527.46, although it is at a 5 1/2-year high. The Nasdaq, down 9.35, or 0.04 percent, at 2,254.04, is not expected to approach its high close of 5,048.62 any time soon.

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