5-day rally sends stocks climbing

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 11,000 Monday for the first time since before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, boosted by a five-day rally that has sent stocks soaring so far in 2006.

The average of 30 blue-chip stocks ended the day up 52.59 at 11,011.90. The last time the Dow finished above 11,000 was June 7, 2001, when it closed at 11,090.74.

Monday's advance followed a 241-point surge last week as investors grew optimistic that the Federal Reserve will soon end its string of interest-rate increases. Investment firms' upgrades of Dow components General Motors and JPMorgan Chase helped carry the index past 11,000 Monday.

Microsoft, one of the 30 Dow stocks, slipped 5 cents to close at $26.86 a share. Boeing, also a Dow stock, fell 58 cents to $68.77. GM surged $1.61 to $22.41, and JPMorgan Chase gained 65 cents to $40.67.

Broader stock indicators also were at multiyear highs. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.70 to 1,290.15, a 4 ½ year high; the Nasdaq composite index added 13.07 to 2,318.69, its best close since Feb. 20, 2001.

"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, 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.

"We probably can hold onto it," he said of the 2006 rally. "If companies can continue to weather this energy surge, operate in a higher interest-rate environment and create jobs, the market should be able to continue this rise."

The market faces key economic data on retail sales and wholesale prices this week, as well as the upcoming fourth-quarter earnings season.

Crude-oil futures retreated as mild winter weather pervaded the country. A barrel of light crude lost 71 cents to $63.50 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow came within 16 points of 11,000 last March 7, but fell back amid worries about inflation and higher oil prices, concerns that dogged the market for much of 2005.

The blue chips still are more than 6 percent below their all-time high of 11,722.98, reached Jan. 14, 2000, as the high-tech boom approached its peak, but they have recovered well from their low of 7,286.27, reached on Oct. 9, 2002, while the nation wrestled with an economic slowdown spurred by the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon the year before.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is 15.5 percent off its all-time high from March 24, 2000, and the Nasdaq is 54 percent below its record high on March 10, 2000.

Gold gained $9.40 an ounce to $549.10 on speculative buying in New York on Monday.

"It may be getting some lift from geopolitical concerns," said Tom Boustead, metals analyst with Man Financial, such as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's health and hawkish comments made lately by Iran's president.

"You have that in the background," said Dan Vaught, futures analyst with A.G. Edwards. "But I tend to think [Monday's] strength in the precious metals, gold in particular, is once again reflecting a strong influx of capital into the commodities, particularly into index hedge funds and other methods people are using to combat [fears of] inflation."