namely at the new york stock exchange. yes, the dow jones industrial average finally did it. it topped $20,000 for the first time ever today. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 closed at new records as well. despite the s&p being the broader, more representative look at the market and the economy, retail investors still tend to focus on the dow. an index made up of some iconic american brands out there. let's get right to the closing numbers. the blue chip average rallied by 155 points to close at 20,06. the nasdaq added 55. the s&p up by 18. also a new record high. dominick has been tracking the action from the floor. he joins us now. what got to us this historic high? >> it has been a long time coming. we've been sitting this talking about it for such a long time. today it was about one stock in

particular that propelled us that got to us open right at that 20,000 mark and that was boeing on the heel of strong earnings. boeing alone accounted for nearly 50 points. a huge chunk of what happened today. you have united technologies, on the heel of its earnings report. it only took with four or five points off the overall picture. if you look at caterpillar and boeing, they added the most. >> so if an investor happen to put $10,000 at or near the market lows, what would have happened? >> you know, timing the market is always a tough thing. if do you look at the way you systematically invest, if you managed to buy at the lows, you got a good return on your investment and here's what we're talking about. if you invested $10,000 during its lowest point in 2009, two years later your money almost doubled on over $19,000.

during euro crisis, your money takes a hit. it is now worth a little over $16,200. with the dow rising, crossing 17,000, your investments are up again. now up over 150% ask worth almost $26,000. over the next couple of years, the stock market remains stuck in a trading wrank the dow trying at various times break out higher but concerns about global markets and the effects of possibly higher interest rates caused two bigger pullbacks in the summer of 2015 and the early part of 2016. with markets covering near record highs, would it take major catalyst to jump start things and that's just what happened in the wake of the presidential election victory by donald trump. so your initial investment has now tripled, coming in at over $30,000. >> would have, should have, could have. stay right there. let's bring in the rest of our

panel. a bull and a bear on their thoughts on where the market might go. jim paulson at wells capital management. he is the bull. and sam is the strategist. let me start with you, sam. you're not an outright bear but you are cautious. what are some of your concerns? >> that's right there. i think what dom said, if you are an investor for the very long term, you want to focus on or worry that resessions and i don't see one on the horizon but these declines of 5 or 10% or more tend to happen more frequently than we might think. whenever we have other a 1,000 point move in the dow, we end up falling into a 5% decline a little more than after the fact. this is first time we've gone more than 2,000 levels without resetting the dial. the last two were 1999 and 2007. also, we typically find that, i

would say almost nine times out of ten, the s&p does trade in a negative year to date territory at any point in the year. bat 70% of the time, it happens in the first quarter of the year. valuations or p.e. ratios, if it ended today it would be the second most expensive since world war ii. >> you think the underpinnings are still pretty firm, and that the move that we just described basically happened before the election. perhaps the election was a further catalyst. you saw this happening during the summer. >> yeah. i think that a lot of the underpinnings of this latest rally were started last summer. we had a big growth in the united states. we were growing below 2% for the previous year prior to the third quarter. we jumped to 3.5% and growing probably three in the fourth quarter as well. we had a pick-up in u.s. growth.

i think this recovery has finally treexd middle which is a. wages are finally chiming. real median income has finally started to come up as well. so broader participation, this recovery. globally, the positive global economic index has been just reached a 6 1/2 year high. that says there's more economies finally participating in this economy across the globe than almost any other time in the recovery. the earnings cycle, we just restarted it. refreshed it. reaccelerating again. our concerns about global deflation have been arrested. interest rates are moving away from zero. the federal reserve is normalizing monetary policy. a lot of good things in addition to the trump presidency that i think underpin this. for the first time, i would argue, confidence is starting to emerge and this recover bring the future, and i think that might generate one last big leg

in this stock market. >> the sentiment on wall street is rather interesting. the fear indicator that was most widely followed. the volatility index, the vix as it is affectionately known, is at a two and a half year low. some people wonder if that is just complacency. people are expecting the margaret to go higher. >> our trader has said a number of time over the course of the past few days and weeks, that the low level of stock market volatility is an indicator and that should be a caution time for certain investors out there. i will say this though. hearing what sam had to say and what jim had to say. there are a number of themes they're watching. the traders have said they're looking at the financial sectors. jpmorgan and goldman sachs are some of the best performing stocks since the election. if those bank-related stocks or banks can do well, it is one of those barometers traders are watching. >> you know, there are a number

of people we've interviewed here on nbr who say one of the worries is the stock may be priced to perfection in terms of what the expectations are. if they get bogged down in reforming health care and don't get regulatory side of things done, that the market might take a hit. are you worried about the washington agenda and the success of that agenda? >> yes, i'll a bit concerned. i think we have very optimistic rhetoric coming out of the white house. what if it fuels deaf ears in congress? 77% debt on gdp raeshio, it is only getting worse, and through a lot of the programs, they have to reduce expenditures for every dollar that has been added. so i think that congress is a bit more conservative. and as a result, might end up pushing back. >> jim, the sectors that have

benefited to this point, energy with talk of reopening the keystone pipeline and the dakota pipeline, banks, industrial companies, they want to bring jobs to the united states. are those the sectors you want to invest in? do you look else where to find value right now? >> i still like those, bill. i think you want to stay, if you're in the united states, leaning more toward those. i think do you until the long term interest rates go up significantly more. ten-year is around 2.5%. i think some work we've done, before it bites into the stock market run here. in the meantime, i think it will continue to be led by the more economical. right now i would be a little shy toward materials but i would go to energy stocks, financials, look at small cap and mid cap

more than large. and don't forget. i would be in international stocks which are beating the u.s. market this year. >> all right. very good. thank you, gentlemen, very much. the dow first crossed 10,000 in march of 1999. but the financial crisis as we mentioned wiped out those gains. the index last preached in 2009 and since then, two well known components have outshone their peers. home depot is one of them. >> a leader in the rally has been on an absolute tear since 2009. likely because of the epic crash of the housing market. it is up over 400% since the dow crossed 10,000. what fueled that? just think about what happened in the foreclosure crisis. first, millions of home were taken back by the bank or

abandoned by own here's could no longer pay. they fell into disrepair quickly. entire neighborhoods, as a matter of fact. then quickly investors moved in buying the homes and doing repairs. the kinds of fixes that home depot fuels. then negative equity which hit millions of owner occupants kept people in place. they couldn't move without taking loss. when you can't move, you fix, you upgrade. again, home depot's sweet spot. even now. millennials start to buy and the demand is still strong. they're using the extra cash to upgrade appliances, fixtures and systems. the in washington. >> another top down performer since the index last crossed 10,000 is disney. julia takes us into the mouse

house. >> dow component disney is up 280% despite falling from all time hits in october 2015 on the ceo as he comments about the weak know at espn. he has transformed the company with two $4 billion acquisitions. marvel in 2009 and star wars parent lucas films in 2012. disney's animation studio turned around with record breaking frozen and revenue at disney parks has jumped. the division has launched a massive new park in shanghai. and disney is banking on deg tal. for nightly business report, los angeles. still ahead, big winners. why companies that mix fresh stone and concrete are watching very carefully.

top performing dow stock today was boeing. as we mentioned earlier, the largest aerospace company reported the rise in quarterly profits. that sent shares to an all time highs, closing up more than 4%. phil has more on boeing's quarter including its dealings with the president over the cost of air force one. >> a big day for boeing as shares moved higher after posting better than expected earnings for the fourth quarter, and giving a fairly optimistic outlook for this year. boeing beats the street on the top and bottom line in the fourth quarter with earnings 12 cents higher than estimates. that's despite a slight dip in commercial deliveries. the profitability of the dream liner is improving and the company says the transition to

the new 737 sets it up for more commercial airplane deliver this year. the wild card for boeing's ceo is overseeing a company dealing with the trump administration. remember, the president has blasted boeing for the cost of new air force one 747s. that has led to a couple of face to face meeting between president and boeing's ceo who said he can work donald trump. >> president trump is very much engaged with business. we've had the privilege of having a very open dialogue with him on business issues and all the actions being taken around things like tax reform, regulatory reform, focus on trade policy. those are all things that will allow us to grow economically and ultimately, allow us to grow and add manufacturing capacity to the u.s. >> a big concern for boeing ask the deals with the trump administration is the country's trade policy. and how that might change. what impact it could potentially have on boeing's dealings around

the world. especially if china which is responsible for about 25% of boeing's backlog of commercial airplanes, scheduled to be delivered in the years to come. "nightly business report." chicago. it was a different day for fellow dow component united technologies. they reported a decline in profit and revenue across the business units. it also detailed the problems facing one of the turbo engines. all of that sent shares of united technologies lower by half a percent. >> in washington, president trump took the first steps to deliver on a signature campaign promise. today he signed an executive order to begin planning for a wall on the u.s./mexico border and said construction would begin within months. eamon javers reports from our nation's capital. >> reporter: it was one of the signature promises of the trump campaign.

a big beautiful new wall along the southern u.s. border with mexico. today president trump set in motion a process he sles do just that and the white house will find a way to make mexico pay for it all. >> we're in the middle of a crisis on our southern border. >> reporter: trump said agents there will be encouraged to be more aggressive in cracking down on criminal immigrants. >> this is a law enforcement agency. but for too long, your officers and agents haven't been allowed to properly do their jobs. >> reporter: the president displayed a new emphasis on improving conditions on the mexican side of the border to reduce the incentive for people to move north. >> we'll be moving in partnership with our friends in mexico to improve safety and economic opportunity on both sides of the border. a strong and healthy economy in

mexico is very good for the united states. >> reporter: mexican officials have been meeting with trump aides ahead of next week's visit between president of the united states and the president of mexico. you can imagine that border wall and who is going to pay for it will be a central focus of that session. for nightly business report. eamon javers at the white house. construction of the president's wall will likely cost billions of dollars but it could been fate handful of companies. >> reporter: the border isn't the only thing getting built up. president trump's executive order to build the wall catapulted industrial stocks to new highs. as a massive project will mean big contracts for construction companies. katherine thompson whose group investigated it said they will be among first to benefit. >> cement and concrete companies. if you look at that, one of those companies and would benefit is actually a mexican

based company. other major beneficiaries would be materials, martin marietta materials. >> thompson knows granite construction which has projects along the border and steel makers that produce rebar are well positioned. and not just for a wall but for broader infrastructure spending as well. other prospective winners, caterpillar and deere. about a third of the 2,000 mile border has already been cordoned off thanks in part to the defense act of 2006. and many miles just aren't conducive to a structure thanks to local terrain. that could mean more demand for surveillance technologies, making defense contractors winners as well. the israeli firm is already developing a wall in air air and boeing has developed and operated border surveillance in the past. but much remains to be seen,

including the price. trump has said could it take $8 billion. but some experts put the cost as high as $25 billion. and none of that includes maintenance. for "nightly business report." at&t hits its earnings target and that's where we begin tonight's earnings. the company did report a slight drop in revenue. at&t also added nearly 3 million net wireless accounts and its streaming service showed some growth. the shares initially fell had after hours trading but finished the regular session up. ebay posted earnings and revenue for the quarter that matched analyst expectations. the ecommerce giant said an increase a tax benefit ask a strong shopping season all helped. for the current quarter, they gave sales guidance that missed the forecast. shares rose after hours but

ended the regular session up just fractionally. and factory equipment maker rock well automation said that quarterly profit and sales grew and stabilizing demand from customers in the energy industry helped the results. rock well raised the guidance for a full year. meanwhile, new regulations affecting the indonesian mine may cause the company to cut jobs and reduce output. they said that could impact results. they also posted dispoeng profits while the revenue came in above. to $16.50 per share. brinker said the higher prices and encrease in employee prices caused profits and sales to

fall. brinker shares were town 6% on an otherwise up day. and in an effort to focus its packaged foods business, bob evans farms says it will sell its restaurant division to a private equity firm for half a billion dollars. bob evans shares soared by nearly 21% today, closing at $57.94. coming up, how are some of the country's best fund managers investing? it gives people hope that things continue to get better

and improve and grow. it's exciting. >> i remember when it was a big dwleel the dow hit 1,000. it is steady progress. i don't think it is anything to shoot to the moon about. it just happens. it will probably go down, too. >> the saying is buy low, sell high. if you're in, you should stick around. i don't think this is a good time to put new money in. >> on the day that the dow closed above 20,000, tyler mathsen interviewed some of the country's top ranking money managers at morning star's fund manager of the year awards. timing is everything. he asked them how they're investing now. >> sue, what a day it was to be here at the morning star of the year award. the winner in the domestic stock fund category is from mid cap value. i began by asking him if he does anything different or sees the market differently on a

milestone day like this. >> doesn't make any difference at all. i keep focused on the same things. >> he is known for making careerian plays and i asked him where he is finding those plays. >> at the moment, you find values in a number of different areas. there aren't a lot of them. the market is pretty well picked over. we're finding things to buy in consumer staples and real estate investment trust. still a couple names in energy and a few other areas. >> next up from oak mark international, i asked him, too, what he thinks about milestone days like this. >> what is really important to us is the value level of the market, not the price movement of the market. the price movement doesn't tell you much. not very instructive. what is instructive is the valuation which the individual components are selling at. it was heavily valued in europe. i asked him how he reacted when

brexit hit? >> the reaction was markets around the world went nuts. it didn't matter if it was a japanese exporter which was inversely impacted by the yen, or outside the united kingdom were strongly impacted. i think that next day, one of the single biggest drops in history. >> when intrinsic value moved nowhere near providing an opportunity. >> all in all, a very interesting day. i would say there was general optimism about the tone of the market. but remember, these stock pickers first and not really market forecasters. they look for where the valley rus and build their portfolios from the bottom up. from chicago, i'll be back. see you tomorrow. >> the road to dow 20,000 was full of monumental events. here's a look back at the history of the world's famous

index. >> the new york stock exchange was in a turmoil. >> december 7, 1941. a date which will live in infamy. >> i shall resign. >> the dow up more than 500 points. october 19, 1987. wall street's black monday. >> the 158-year-old firm born before the industrial revolution. leeman brothers will likely file for bankruptcy tonight. >> the losses from the financial crisis. we're above 17,000. >> we do expect the dow to crash for the first time in its 120-84 history. and it is done. >> the history of the stock market is the history of our country. before we go, here's another look at what has been an

historic day on wall street. today the blue chip average rallied by 155 points, closing at 20,6851. and the s&p 500 gained to a new high. >> and as you know, we were speaking about dow history. oh, great. look at that hair. you and i have seen an lot of history. that's when the dow first crossed the 10,000 mark. >> it is all about the hair. >> on that note, that's "nightly business report." thanks for joining us. >> i'm bill griffin at the new york stock exchange.

>> this is bbc "world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the