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Market Update

Let's Party Like It's 1999

The Dow has hit 11,000 again, but this differs from the experience of more than 10 years ago.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly breached the 11,000 mark Friday, more than 10 years after it first hit that milestone.

But the circumstances surrounding the first breakthrough were decidedly different than this go-around. During the 10 years leading up to May 1999, the Dow had risen from 2,700 (versus an essentially flat index since 2000), consumers were getting excited about  Apple's (AAPL) first iBook featuring a newfangled wireless Internet card (the iPad was but a glimmer in Steve Jobs' eye), and the world was being treated to its first glimpse of Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

After the Dow first hit the 11,000 mark, it struggled to find momentum during the following years, sliding below that level several times before one last hurrah at the benchmark in the summer of 2001. The index didn't reach 11,000 again until January 2006 on its way to an all-time high of 14,164 in October 2007.

Click here for an interactive Dow price chart, to find historical Dow pricing information, sector breakdowns, and other information on the index.

There have also been some big changes to the makeup of the Dow since it first hit 11,000. More tech firms such as  Microsoft (MSFT),  Verizon Communications (VZ), and  Cisco (CSCO) have replaced industrial stalwarts such as  Honeywell (HON) and  Goodyear (GT). The financial crisis forced  Citigroup (C),  American International Group (AIG), and General Motors out of the index.  Chevron (CVX) made a round trip, being replaced in November 1999 only to reappear in February 2008.

Here is a list of all firms added since May 1999 along with what company they replaced.

Company Added Company Replaced Date Travelers Citigroup 6/8/2009 Cisco Systems General Motors 6/8/2009 Kraft Foods AIG 9/22/2008 Chevron Altria 2/19/2008 Bank of America Honeywell 2/19/2008 AIG AT&T 4/8/2004 Pfizer Eastman Kodak 4/8/2004 Verizon Communications International Paper 4/8/2004 Microsoft Chevron 11/1/1999 Intel Goodyear Tire 11/1/1999 AT&T (Formerly SBC) Union Carbide 11/1/1999 The Home Depot Sears, Roebuck 11/1/1999

 

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