Dow closes above 11,000 for first time since before 9/11 attacks

NEW YORK – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 11,000 today for the first time since before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, buoyed by a rally that has sent stock prices soaring through the first five sessions of 2006.

The average of 30 blue-chip stocks ended the day at 11,011.10, according to preliminary calculations, its first finish above 11,000 on June 7, 2001, when it closed at 11,090.74.

Today's advance followed a 241-point surge last week as investors grew increasingly optimistic that the Federal Reserve will soon end its string of interest rate hikes. Investment firms' upgrades of Dow components General Motors Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave the Dow the final push above 11,000 today.

"It 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., said of the Dow's achievement.

Hogan said heightened clarity about the Fed's rate tightening, stabilizing oil prices and new investment money from 401(k) and pension funds have contributed to the market's gains in the new year.