For the first time in over a year, the Dow Jones has climbed past the 10,000-point barrier. It's largely symbolic - but does it mean anything for investors?
Bells clanging
>> Anthony Mason: The historic rebound that brought the market back to Dow 10,000 has been led by the once battered bank stocks. Bank of America is up almost 400 percent since March, Citigroup up 375 percent, and American Express up 230 percent. It's got to be nice to be back in this kind of territory.
>>
Speaker: It is. It's been a long time between drinks, though.
>> Anthony Mason: When the Dow first broke 10,000, back in March of 1999, veteran trader, Art Cashen assumed spelling broke out his rally cap.
>>
Speaker: And what you have in your hand was the original one that I was wearing 10 years ago.
>> Anthony Mason: New caps were printed up for today. Inaudible different, though, doesn't it?
>>
Speaker: It sure does. It sure does. The down side of it is it reminds people that for 10 years, we've basically gone nowhere.
>> Anthony Mason: A decade ago, near the peak of the dot.com bubble, the market celebrated Dow 10,000. This time, the milestone's been met with more of a sigh of relief and doubts about whether stocks can stay at these levels.
>>
Speaker: We've made a lot of progress, and that's what the stock market is celebrating, but I don't know that the market can continue to move higher until it's very clear that this recovery that we're now in evolves into a self-sustaining economic expansion.
>>
Speaker: Where is the safe haven is what I want to know.
>> Anthony Mason: Investors like Scott Schafer assumed spelling, manager at a Dallas electronics company, are still wary.
>>
Speaker: I'm not sure that we can look at just one number, this run-up, or the magical 10,000 number, and think, "Wow, everything's fine." Because that's not really the case.
>> Anthony Mason: Even with the rocket-like rally since March, the Dow is still down nearly 30 percent from its all-time high in 2007. Is confidence back in this market?
>>
Speaker: Slowly coming back.
>> Anthony Mason: Trader Doreen Mogaverra assumed spelling.
>>
Speaker: I think it is coming back. I think it still has a way to go, but I think it is coming back.
>> Anthony Mason: Wall Street likes to say 10,000 is just another number, but it could be a key psychological marker as the markets try to rebuild that confidence. And five digits look a lot more impressive than four. Katie.
>>
Katie: That's for sure, and Anthony, we've brought in Jill Schlesinger, who's editor-at-large of CBS MoneyWatch.com and a certified financial planner. Good to see you, Jill. What does this mean for investors, especially for those who have 401Ks?
>> Jill Schlesinger: Well, it really means that people have been getting more confident, buying stocks, chasing those performance higher with the hope stocks will keep going up. So not that it's going to necessarily happen, but that's the hope.
>>
Katie: And this is really good news for people who are still in their careers or have a ways to go before retirement, but what about those who are about to retire or who already have?
>> Jill Schlesinger: Well, that's a problem, and hopefully, they didn't have too much risk to begin with, but the bad news is they only can just work longer or spend less. Those are the bad choices they have to choose.
>>
Katie: And Anthony is this just a blip on the radar screen, or do you think happy days are here again on the Stock Market? What are people on the street telling you about that?
>> Anthony Mason: Well, it's certainly a big blip, Katie, but there is a real divide on the street. There are some who believe this rally still has legs, but there are also a lot of bears out there, and the key is gonna be corporate earnings. If we don't see profits that come from real revenue growth, that's what investors are looking for. If it's just coming from cost cutting, then the mood could swing on Wall Street again, and the market could start to go south.
>> Jill Schlesinger: And that's a really good reason why investors shouldn't put 100 percent of their money in stocks today, just like they shouldn't have bailed out at the bottom in March.
>>
Katie: All right, Jill Schlesinger and Anthony Mason, double-teaming tonight. Nice to see you both. Thanks so much.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====
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