And that’s the way it was: March 29, 1999

Dow Jones closes above the 10,000 mark for the first time

On Monday, March 29, 1999, the Dow Jones Industrial Average—the most famous stock market index—closed above the symbolic 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time. This was during the height of the dot-com boom, when the Dow climbed at a heady pace, with seemingly no summit in view. Little more than a month later, the index broke the 11,000 mark for the first time. Some analysts even argued that Dow 36,000 was within striking distance.

Traders had a celebration on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, that manic Monday, complete with party hats and other fripperies uncommon to the cathedrals of buccaneering capitalism. And the milestone made the front pages the next day:

—Wall Street Journal

—New York Times

—Los Angeles Times

—Washington Post

—New York Post

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The Editors are the staffers of Columbia Journalism Review. Tags: , , ,