the fall. the rally to 13,000 is a 22% rebound from there. the nasdaq is also up 26% since then. the s&p 500 up 24%. our economy has stabilizedment it is growing. unemployment numbers moving in the right direction. reporter: weekly first time unemployment claims have been falling since september. at the same time, housing sales have begun to rise. the debt crisis in greece has hung over the markets. european leaders approved another bailout monday. you re still worried about greece? i m absolutely worried about greece. reporter: trader ken pole poll carry. what happens to this market? the market will take off because it s like they ve released the pressure from it right? reporter: if your view, we ve turned the corner here? i feel like we have. reporter: economist chris thornberg says the markets are catching up to the good economic numbers. in other words, it s finally started to dawn on people that the recovery we re seeing in the u.s. economy is real. r
pelley: good evening, it has been a long time coming. the stock market returned to a major milestone today. the blue chip index crossed 13,000 for the first time in ne nearly four years. it wound up closing south of that at 12965, a gain of 15 points for the day. but that 13k was a feel-good moment for everyone whose 401(k) was pw-tarred. the last time the dow cross 13,000 in may of 08 it was heading in the wrong direction. by the next year, it had bottomed out at 6,547. now it has recovered nearly all of that loss. anthony mason is at the new york stock exchange tonight. anthony? reporter: two hours into the trading day the dow finely kissed the 13,000 mark again. did that number mean anything to you? i think investors look at those milestone numbers as stepp as the market moves higher. reporter: trader jonathan corpina. when main street opens up their newspaper one morning when the dow reaches 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, that helps the market skhrolgally. reporter: