NEW YORK (AP) - A surprisingly strong report on the housing market and the prospect of more cash for the International Monetary Fund to fight off a financial crisis powered a stock market rally yesterday that sent major indexes to their highest close since last summer.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed above 1,300 for the first time since July 28, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished at its highest since July 25 -- just before the bitter fight in Washington over the federal debt limit. The S&P is up 4 percent for the year, the Dow 3 percent.
The Dow finished up 96.88, or 0.8 percent, at 12,578.95. The S&P rose 14.37, or 1.1 percent, to 1,308.04. The Nasdaq composite index, which has outperformed the other two this year, rose 41.63 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,769.71.
First Coast News