“Stocks rose to new highs Friday following the upbeat jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly touching 15,000 and the S&P 500 moving above 1600.
The latest milestone for the Dow comes six years after it first closed above another threshold,14,000, in July 2007, the Wall Street Journal points out. While such records don’t necessarily signify a shift in market sentiment, experts say such milestones can have a psychological impact on investors. As the Dow reclaims lost ground, some investors are reflecting on how far they’ve come since the financial crisis.
Investors were applauding the news Friday that the unemployment rate reached its lowest level since 2008 in April after adding 165,000 jobs, more than expected. But for all the excitement around market milestones, investing pros say these thresholds don’t really influence the market’s direction. While investors often get swept away when the market is near key thresholds, analysts it’s the fundamentals like stock valuations, economic growth and earnings that decide market performance in the end.
Here’s a look back at some of the Dow’s biggest milestones, what happened next — and what lessons were learned….”
