NEW YORK —A brief morning rally Thursday pushed the Dow Jones industrials above their highest close since the financial crisis of 2008, but disappointing economic data tempered traders’ optimism later in the day, and stocks finished lower.
Solid news on factory orders and strong earnings from U.S. manufacturers, highlighting one of the economy’s bright spots, helped the market open higher. The Dow rose 85 points.
But the Dow and broader indexes turned negative after weaker reports on home sales and future economic growth were released in the late morning. The Dow closed down 22.33 points, or 0.2 percent, at 12,734.63.
The Dow and other indexes are still up sharply for the year, and for about 45 minutes Thursday morning, the Dow traded above 12,810.54, its peak from last year and the highest close since the spring before the 2008 financial crisis.
Traders appear less afraid of spillover damage from the European debt crisis, and data on jobs and manufacturing have been consistently strong. The Dow is up more than 4 percent for the year.
“With global risk off center stage and attention going back to the fundamentals, this market was ready to explode, which is exactly what it is doing,” said Doug Cote, chief market strategist with ING Investment Management.
The government reported early Thursday orders to factories for long-lasting manufactured goods increased in December for the second straight month, and a key measure of business investment rose solidly.
That strong demand was apparent in quarterly earnings reports from U.S. manufacturers. 3M stock closed 1.3 percent higher after its fourth-quarter profit beat Wall Street’s estimates.
3M and Caterpillar led the gains for the Dow. AT&T dragged the average lower, falling 2.5 percent after its earnings missed Wall Street’s forecasts. AT&T depends heavily on the Apple iPhone but recently lost its exclusive rights to sell it in the U.S.
The Dow’s post-crisis high during the trading day was 12,928.45, reached May 2, 2011. It traded as high as 12,841.95 on Thursday. The average would need to rise about 11 percent to get to its record high close of 14,164.53, reached on Oct. 9, 2007.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed down 7.62 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,318.43. It was dragged lower by volatile financial companies and telecommunications firms including AT&T. Its post-crisis peak was 1,370.58, also set May 2, 2011. The Nasdaq shed 13.03 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,805.28.
