Stocks Up | featured news

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 339 points Thursday after European leaders unveiled a financial rescue plan and the data showed the U.S. economy growing at a faster clip in the third quarter than earlier in the year.

Stocks jumped more than 2 percent at the open on Thursday after European leaders agreed to boost the region's bailout fund and struck a deal with banks and insurers to accept 50 percent losses on Greek bonds.

Strong corporate results and hope that European leaders were making progress on their debt woes helped lift shares on Wall Street.

Wall Street celebrated Columbus Day with a 330-point buying binge on the Dow as traders around the world breathed a sigh of relief that European leaders pledged to bolster their banks and the markets look ahead to the start of earnings season.

Stock prices around the world rose on Monday after European leaders signaled a willingness to tackle the financial crisis brewing there.

Stocks got a lift Friday by news that the US economy generated more jobs than anticipated over the past three months, reinforcing hopes that the world's largest economy will not be sliding back into recession. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. added 103,000 jobs in September. That was above expectations for a 60,000 increase. It also revised up the previous two months' figures to show around 90,000 more jobs were created than previously thought.

Signs that the nation's massive services sector continues to expand, albeit at a slower pace, helped push stocks into positive territory by midmorning on Wall Street Wednesday.

A topsy-turvy day on the markets ended with a dramatic surge that brought major stock indexes into the black for the first time in three days.

Stocks rose on Thursday after U.S. economic data came in stronger than forecast and Germany's lower house approved new powers for the euro zone's crisis fund.

A decision by European central banks to support the region's financial system helped calm Asian markets, setting off a rally across the region in Friday trading....