Dow 10,000 just the midpoint of high and low

Dow 10,000 would be an amazing rally from the lows of early March, when the index fell into the low 6,000s.

But let's keep Dow 10,000 in perspective. The Dow hit 14,000 in July 2007. Hence it's still off about 30 percent from that tally.

In other words, Dow 10,000 represents nothing more than a rough midpoint between the recent highs and lows.

Further, price-earnings ratios weren't as obscene in July 2007 as they had been during previous stock bubbles such as the tech bubble of the late 1990s. Dow 14,000 wasn't as ludicrous as Nasdaq 5,000.

It's true that Dow 14,000 was based on earnings inflated by a ridiculously hot housing market, and that it also took some financial engineering to get there.

Now that the financial bubble has popped, Dow gains must be based on real earnings rather than borrowed money.

Nonetheless, for those who say Dow 10,000 represents yet another bubble, it's important to point out that in reality we're still only halfway back to the summit.