Dow hits 14,000 for 1st time since Oct 2007

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow stock market index flirted with the 14,000 line on Friday, dashing above it several times throughout the morning and bringing reminders of the last time it hit that mark - almost a different era, before the financial crisis rocked the world economy.

After rising steadily in early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average briefly crossed 14,000 shortly after 10am EST (11pm Singapore time). It lasted only a moment.

Then, after 11am, it started flitting above that key mark again before falling back to around 13,990. The other major stock indexes were also up, pushed higher by the US jobs report and auto sales.

Crossing 14,000 is a rarefied event: The Dow has done so only 15 times in its history, and the last time was more than five years ago, on Oct 17, 2007.