Dow Crosses 13,000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average took its first peak across the historical 13,000 mark in the first few minutes of trading today, before quickly retreating into the 12's for the rest of the morning.

Pushing the Dow across the finish line were upbeat earnings announcements and better-than-expected durable goods orders for March.

Some of the most influential news came from Amazon and Dow component Alcoa. Shares of Alcoa advanced 6.2 percent to $36.10 after the company announced that it will explore the idea of shedding its packaging and consumer businesses, which generated roughly 10 percent of the company's total revenue in 2006.

Amazon shares spiked 22 percent to $54.43, based on the company's report after Tuesday's close that profits had more than doubled for the first quarter.

Good news for economic growth also exerted a positive impact on the markets this morning. The Commerce Department said that durable-goods orders increased by 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted $214.85 billion in March. That exceeded economists expectations of a 2.7 percent gain.

by Liz Gunnison

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images