Now that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has made headlines by crossing the 40,000 level for the first time ever on Thursday, what comes next? History shows the 128-year-old-average tends to pull back a bit after crossing large, round number thresholds. "History tends to confirm that the market typically takes a breather after eclipsing millennium milestones." Bear market declines of 20% or more also happened just 5% of the time. .DJI 1Y mountain The 30-stock Dow crossed the 40,000 level on Thursday after flirting with the threshold in April.

---

Persons: Sam Stovall, Stovall, Dow Organizations: Dow Jones, Dow, Walmart, Nasdaq Locations: 39,8907.88