Once Again, Dow Flirts With 10,000

The Dow Jones industrial average cracked 10,000 six times during the final minutes of trading Thursday but again failed to make history, finishing the nail-biting session less than three points below the mark.

Despite the late tease, however, the Dow set a record high, rising 118.21 to 9,997.62 and setting the stage for an easy 2.38-point jump to five digits on Friday.

It was the second crossing of 10,000 this week for the Dow, which hit the mark for the first time on Tuesday.

The Dow rose as high as 10,001.78 that day, but sank back below about a minute later and closed with a loss. Thursday’s high was 10,001.51.

“It is a good day,” said Robert Dickey, technical analyst at Dain Rauscher Wessels in Minneapolis. “It indicates that nobody’s giving up on this thing.”