Dow Marches Closer To 18,000

The Dow Jones Industrials Average is on track to open Friday with a gain of nearly 40 points, which puts the blue chip barometer within sight of 18,000. If the Dow were to close above that milestone on Friday, it would be 108 trading sessions after it first closed above 17,000 on July 3, which would make it the fifth-fastest 1,000-point move in the index's 118-year history. Through Thursday, the biggest contributors to the Dow's rally since 17,000 have been stocks of Visa Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , which have about 290 points and 138 points, respectively, to the index.