NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average broke through 12,000 for the first time in 2 1/2 years Wednesday, but a late fade kept it from closing above that level.
The index of 30 prominent U.S. companies finished the day with a modest gain after the Federal Reserve maintained stimulus measures and new-home sales topped projections.
Weak profit forecasts from Boeing and Xerox weighed on the market. Boeing fell 3 percent after saying its 2011 profits would be hurt by production delays. Xerox fell 8 percent after saying its profit margins were not increasing.
The Dow gained 8.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to end at 11,985.44. It reached as high as 12,020 in morning trading.
The last time the Dow closed above 12,000 was June 19, 2008, just as the financial crisis was worsening.
“I don’t know what more the stock market could have hoped for,” said Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, which oversees $550 billion.
The Fed continues “to address the two pillars that guide monetary policy: inflation and employment, and they’re both under what the Fed would like to see. The Fed is going to maintain this course until the economy is well in a recovery.”
The Standard and Poor’s 500 rose 5.45, or 0.4 percent, to 1,296.63. The Nasdaq composite jumped 20.25, or 0.7 percent, to 2,739.50.
Energy and materials companies gained more than 2 percent, the most among the 10 company groups that make up the S&P 500 index.
Investors were pleased with President Barack Obama’s calls for lower tax rates on businesses during the State of the Union address Tuesday evening, said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank.
“If he can take steps to simplify the tax codes, be it for individuals or corporations, I think it would be a lot easier to do business,” Ablin said.
