Dow Comes Within Half a Point of 20K

The Dow Jones industrial average came within half a point of 20,000 but closed below that milestone as an afternoon rally lost momentum, the AP reports. The gains Friday did push two other major indexes, the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite, to all-time highs. The Dow didn't close at a record. Traders were encouraged by a December jobs report showing that wages jumped by the largest amount in seven years. Technology companies posted some of the biggest gains. EBay jumped 3.5% and Facebook added 2.3%. Phone companies fell. AT&T gave back 2%. The Dow gained 64 points, or 0.3%, to 19,963. The S&P 500 rose 8 points, or 0.4%, to 2,276. The Nasdaq climbed 33 points, or 0.6%, to 5,521. (More Dow Jones stories.)