Dow tops 13,000; upbeat earnings reports continue

Worries remain even with a rapid rise in the Dow.
NEW YORK (AP) -- It looks like cause for celebration: The Dow Jones industrial average surged from 12,000 to 13,000 in just six months. But appearances can be deceiving, and there may be more reason to worry than rejoice about Wall Street's latest accomplishment.
Stronger-than-expected profits from several large companies helped push the stock market to historical heights. But many big corporations, including the Dow components, made a chunk of that money overseas, where economies are growing faster than in the United States. And many of the same worries that weighed on investors earlier in the year remain: rising energy costs, a slumping housing market and a possible credit crunch.
Still, the stock market's best-known indicator swept past its latest milestone just after trading began Wednesday, and even made it past 13,100, rising as high as 13,107.45. The Dow, which has risen in 18 of the past 20 sessions and gained more than 780 points in that time, closed at 13,089.89, up 135.95, or 1.05 percent. It was the Dow's 35th record close since the start of October.
Shared in rally
The broader market shared in the rally. The Standard & amp; Poor's 500 index rose 15.01, or 1.01 percent, to 1,495.42, after reaching 1,496.59, a six-and-a-half-year high. The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index advanced 23.35, or 0.92 percent, to 2,547.89, after hitting a six-year high of 2,551.39.
And the Russell 2000 index, which reflects the performance of smaller companies, inched past a record close set earlier this month, rising 5.71, or 0.69 percent, to 832.07.
It took the Dow just 129 trading days, since Oct. 18, to make the trek from 12,000 to 13,000, far less than the 71/2 years the blue chips took to go from 11,000 to 12,000. The swiftness of this latest trip does recall the days of the dot-com boom when the major indexes were soaring and it took the Dow 24 days to barrel from 10,000 to 11,000.
The Dow climbed to a record this time as many of the country's biggest companies surpassed analysts' first-quarter earnings projections. Among those beating forecasts and advancing Wednesday: soft-drink maker PepsiCo Inc., materials manufacturer Corning Inc. and Dow component Boeing Co.
Wall Street got an additional lift from the Commerce Department's report of an increase in durable goods orders, which reassured investors that demand for U.S. products remains strong. The department also reported that sales of new homes rebounded slightly in March.