Dow index tops 10,000 at closing bell.

(From Agence France Presse)

Wall Street's Dow Jones industrials closed above 10,000 for the first time since May 2002, rallying 0.85 percent to 10,005.86 at the closing bell.

The closing figure, still subject to revision after trades are settled, would be the first above 10,000 since May 24, 2002.

The market got off to a good start after a report showing retail sales up a robust 0.9 percent in November.

But the push above 10,000 came after the release of minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in October, in which members said they expected inflation to remain very low "for the next year or two."

The report …