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The Dow Jones industrial average was down 200 points just before midday Wednesday after Italy's borrowing costs soared, a sign that Europe's debt crisis had spilled into the third-largest economy in the euro bloc.

Groupon, the company that pioneered online group discounts, saw its stock climb by nearly a third in its public debut Friday, showing strong demand for an Internet company whose business model is considered unsustainable by some analysts. Groupon's stock jumped $6.40, or 32 percent, to $26.40 in late morning Friday after trading began at about 10:45 a.m. Earlier, the stock was trading as high as $31.14. Big fluctuations are common for companies that have just gone public as investors gauge what to do with the stock. The stock is trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol "GRPN."

SecondMarket has raised money from a venture fund started by a former Facebook executive as the online marketplace for private shares looks to persuade more companies to sign up.

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.

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.

Stocks rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank launched fresh liquidity measures to help banks weather the euro zone's debt crisis, easing one of the major concerns overhanging markets.

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.