Former First Lady Laura Bush, second from right, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange before in New York today. U.S. stocks are opening higher and the Dow Jones industrial average is nearing 13,000 after Greece secured a bailout deal to keep it from default. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)CHRISTINA REXRODE,AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since before the 2008 financial crisis.
The Dow passed 13,000 about two hours into the trading day, then quickly dropped back. Its last time above 13,000 during a trading day was May 20, 2008, four months before the Lehman Brothers investment bank went under.
U.S. stocks got help from a long-awaited bailout deal for Greece, aimed at preventing a potentially catastrophic default, and from strong corporate earnings reports at home.
Just after 11:30 a.m. EST, the Dow was up 41 points at 12,990. In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was up five points at 1,366. The Nasdaq composite index was up 10 points at 2,962.