Dow Jones hits historic 20,000-point mark

New York City – Wednesday was a historic day on Wall Street.

After getting very close several times over the last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 20,000 points for the first time ever.

George Conboy of Brighton Securities said the average can act as a way to measure consumer optimism.

“An analyst will tell you that the meaning is very modest, because the Dow Jones Industrial average is a median composed of only 30 companies,” said Conboy. “So, should these 30 companies, do they act as a stand-in for the whole economy? Not perfectly, no - but as a good yardstick to measure investor optimism, to measure the health and strength of U.S. investor markets? Yes.”

The Dow finished the day at 20,067 points – up 155, total. The NASDAQ added 55 points, and the S&P 500 tacked on 18.