Dow spikes to all-time record high in dramatic rebound

NEW YORK (AFP) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average powered to an all-time record high on Tuesday exactly four years after hitting bottom in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

After more than doubling its value in a steady march upward since March 2009, the Dow assaulted the record from the opening bell and ended the day at 14,253.77, nearly 90 points above the former closing high on Oct. 9, 2007..

The broader index of the US markets, the S&P 500, also settled higher, but at 1,539.79 remained 1.6 per cent below its all-time trading high.

It was a dramatic rebound that came even as the broader economy continues to struggle to leave behind the 2008-2009 recession, and the government in Washington battles over how to trim its massive deficit, a legacy of the economic crisis.

Traders react at the end of trade at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, March 5, 2013. The Dow Jones industrial average surged to a record high at the opening bell, surpassing a key level in its recovery from the 2008 financial meltdown. The Dow Jones closed at 14253.77 points topping the previous record high of 14,164 achieved on Oct 9, 2007. -- PHOTO: AFP