The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10000 for the first time in a year Wednesday after a sharp rally sparked by earnings news and investors' appetite for risk.

Although indexes usually "test" such barriers, with sellers rushing in to book quick profits the first few times an index closes above such a level and sending it back down, this time the Dow barreled through the same day it first crossed 10000 intraday.

The Dow finished up 144.90 points, or 1.5%, to end near its intraday high at 10015.86, its highest level since Oct. 3, 2008, when markets were plunging amid the outbreak of financial crisis on Wall Street.

The Dow's gain on Wednesday was its biggest one-day rise since Aug. 21 in both point and percentage terms.

The move above 10000 was fueled by better than expected results from Dow components Intel and J.P. Morgan Chase and a smaller decline than anticipated in U.S. retail sales, which boosted hopes that stocks' momentum may carry through year end.