See the graph / details at link below about when Dow 1000 was breached briefly in 1972, but it took a full decade for the DOW to finally stay above 1000 in 1982.
http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/inde...es&decade=1970
Much of the 1970s / early 80s was a sideways market - bouncing around, but basically go nowhere...
That's basically the same situation which has been occurring the past several years, and shows no sign of reversing anytime soon with even worse likely to come.
Ron