Dow ends best day since March 2009

LA Times
November 30, 2011 | 1:41 pm

The Dow Jones industrial average had its best day since March 2009 thanks to a quick succession of promising economic reports, including a new effort by central banks to help struggling European economies.

The Dow closed up 490.05 points, or 4.2%, to 12,045.68. It was the largest point and percentage advance since March 23, 2009, when the index shot up 497 points, or 6.8% -- just as the latest bull market was beginning.

Most broader indexes, however, posted their biggest one-day gains since early August, when markets were bouncing wildly from day to day after Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating.

The S& P 500 index surged 4.3% to 1,246.96, its best day since it rose 4.6% on Aug. 11. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 4.2% to 2,620.34, its best day since Aug. 23, when it rallied 4.3%.

The gains lifted most indexes back to where they were two weeks ago, before Europe’s worsening debt crisis triggered steep declines.

(More here.)