The stock market ended November with a no-holds-barred rally, as the Dow posted its largest point and percentage gain since March 2009. The index ended 490 points higher at 12,045.7. The S&P 500 rose 51.8 points to 1247.
The stunning rally was spurred by a series of big headlines that came out in different parts of the world: China lowered its reserve requirements for banks, six central banks including the Fed announced a plan to reduce the cost of dollar swaps for European banks, and a report on U.S. private-sector jobs showed substantial growth.
This is the kind of news that investors have been waiting for: policymakers acting together to prop up the banking system and increase liquidity, and another sign that the U.S. is not slipping into a double-dip recession.
Bank stocks jumped immediately after the pre-market Fed announcement, and kept climbing for most of the day into the close. Citigroup (C) ended 8.9% higher, and Morgan Stanley (MS) rose a jaw-breaking 11%.
November has been a rocky month for the market, and the Dow would have ended the month in the red had the market not posted a strong rally today. For the month, the index was up only 90.7 points. The S&P 500 was actually off 6.3 points in November, or 0.5%.
For the month, Home Depot (HD) led the Dow, rising 9.6%. Bank of America (BAC) was the weakest performer falling 20%.
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