US stocks surged today as healthy retail sales reassured investors about consumer spending and a $38 billion mining takeover fed expectations for more deals.
The Dow hit a record on its biggest point gain since 2002, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index also closed at a new record and is now within several points of its lifetime high.
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 283.86 points, or 2.09 per cent, to end at a record 13,861.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shot up 28.94 points, or 1.91 per cent, to finish at a record 1,547.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 49.94 points, or 1.88 per cent, to close at 2,701.73.
The Dow also hit an intraday record high of 13,869.94, topping a previous record set June 1st.
The day's point gain was the Dow's best since October 15th, 2002. On October 9th, 2002, all three major US stock indexes fell to their closing lows after the Internet bubble went bust.
Several mainstream retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, Target, and J.C.Penney, offered upbeat sales outlooks for July, lifting optimism for back-to-school sales even in the face of high gasoline prices.
Alcoa was a big contributor to the Dow's rally. It gained 6.7 per cent in part on speculation that it now would be a takeover target.