The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 11,000 on Monday, the first day it had even risen above that mark since June 13, 2001.
The basket of 30 stocks closed at 11011.90, up more than 52 points.
The Dow’s milestone achievement came on the same day that Alcoa Inc. reported its four-quarter earnings. The world’s largest aluminum producer (and member of the Dow 30) traditionally albeit unofficially kicks off the earnings-reporting season. Alcoa reported a decline in earnings, to $224 million from $268 million, attributing the falloff to lower production due to hurricanes, strikes, and restructuring costs.
In general, however, earnings this season are expected to be relatively weak because of high energy prices, according to the Financial Times.
Still, investors — and, no doubt, finance executives — are becoming more hopeful that the Federal Reserve is winding down its tightening policy. They are also buoyed by what they perceive to be weakening energy prices, which should get a boost this week from the unusually warm weather in most of the country. Indeed, crude oil for February delivery fell 1.3 percent on Monday, to $63.40 a barrel, according to Bloomberg.
The fact that the Dow closed above 11,000 “sends a signal that the U.S. economy has weathered some pretty harsh storms over the past few years and in recent months,” Art Hogan, chief investment strategist at Jefferies & Co., told the Associated Press.