THE NEW YORK REPORT
THE Dow posted its largest one-day percentage gain in three months yesterday, boosted by reports of an aid plan for heavily indebted Greece.
A senior German ruling coalition source said euro zone governments have decided in principle to help Greece, comments that calmed investors worried about a threat to global economic stability.
“There’s a relief that something can be worked out to prevent a collapse of their bond market,” said Ben Halliburton, chief investment officer at Tradition Capital Management in New Jersey. “The question is, will the other countries be willing to step in.”
Gains on Wall Street were broad-based, but shares of commodity-related companies shot higher as a decline in the dollar lifted prices of oil and gold. Shares of Chevron gained 1.7 per cent to $71.31.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 150.25 points, or 1.52 per cent, to 10,058.64 – its biggest daily percentage gain since 9 November. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 13.78 points, or 1.30 per cent, to 1,070.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 24.82 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 2,150.87. But concern over rising debt in Greece and some other euro zone countries have sapped confidence in equity markets in recent weeks, with the Dow average closing below 10,000 on Monday for the first time since November.