US stocks : Dow up 1.75 pct
U.S. stocks began the new year with a broad rally on Wednesday, sparked by a last-minute deal in Washington to avert the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts that threatened to derail the economy.
In 2013's first trading session, the S&P 500 was on target for its best percentage gain since Nov. 19 and highest close since Oct. 19.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 229.64 points, or 1.75 percent, to 13,333.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 26.53 points, or 1.86 percent, to 1,452.72.
The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 74.26 points, or 2.46 percent, to 3,093.77.
U.S. markets were closed on Tuesday for New Year's Day. Nine stocks rose for every one falling on the New York Stock Exchange and all 10 of the S&P 500 industry sector indexes gained at least 1 percent. The S&P financial index was up 2.2 percent.
The S&P Information Technology index gained 2.1 percent, including Hewlett-Packard, which climbed nearly 5 percent to $14.95. HP's gain followed a miserable 2012 when the stock fell nearly 45 percent.
Congress passed a bill to prevent huge tax hikes and delay spending cuts that would have pushed the world's largest economy off a "fiscal cliff" and possibly into recession.
The vote avoided steep income-tax increases for a majority of Americans but failed to resolve a major showdown over cutting the budget deficit, leaving investors and businesses with only limited clarity about the outlook for the economy. Spending cuts of $109 billion in military and domestic programs were temporarily delayed, and another
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