THE UPSIDE

Cautious individual investors appear to slowly be coming back to stocks. Retail brokerage TD Ameritrade reported an average of 431,000 trades a day in August, up from barely more than 300,000 when the market was sliding in January and February.

If the market can hold Wednesday's milestone, investors should grow even more confident.

"It wouldn't surprise me if it made Joe Main Street more comfortable," said David Kelson, portfolio manager of Talon Asset Management in Chicago.

the downside

Commercial real estate loans still threaten U.S. banks and the larger economy. With more than 7 million jobs lost in the recession, office space has sat empty and developers have defaulted on their loans.

Last year, banks wrote off $6.2 billion in loans backed by commercial properties. Nearly $500 billion of the loans are expected to come due annually over the next few years.

Another threat to economic recovery is unemployment, which now stands at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent and is not expected to peak until reaching 10.3 percent or higher next summer. Consumer spending is unlikely to rise in coming months as households contend with rising unemployment, as well as tighter standards on bank loans and credit cards. BUSINESS, 9A

WHAT IT MEANS

The comeback by the stock market's best-known indicator is the most visible sign yet that investors believe the economy is recovering from the financial crisis and recession.

A recovering stock market soothes the psyche as people watch their portfolios and 401(k) retirement accounts being replenished. And if people start spending again, that might persuade more investors, including some reluctant pros, to go back into the market.

"It's almost like an announcement that the bear market is over," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. in Boston. "That is an eye-opener -- 'Hey, you know what, things must be getting better because the Dow is over 10,000.' "

WHAT DROVE IT

Earnings reports from chip maker Intel Corp. and banker JPMorgan Chase & Co. gave the Dow its final push past 10,000.

JPMorgan, the first major bank to report third-quarter earnings, stoked the market's optimism as it easily beat Wall Street's expectations with a profit of $3.59 billion for the July-September period. The stock rose $1.50, or 3.3 percent, to $47.16.

Intel also beat analysts' estimates, reporting a smaller-than-expected drop in profits and sales after the market closed Tuesday.

Intel rose 34 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $20.83.