North American stocks jumped at the start of trading on Wednesday, after the world's major central banks announced coordinated moves to help ease some of the effects of the growing economic stresses emanating from the European debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 317 points or 2.7 per cent, to 11,873. The broader S&P 500 rose 32 points or 2.7 per cent, to 1227. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index rose 247 points or 2.1 per cent, to 11,980.
The gains were exceptionally widespread, reflecting relief among investors that central bankers were at last taking some action, lifting all 30 stocks within the Dow and all but two stocks within the S&P 500. However, economically sensitive stocks saw some of the biggest gains. Bank of America Corp. rose 4.5 per cent, even after Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating by one notch on Tuesday evening. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 5.4 per cent and Alcoa Inc. rose 4.7 per cent.
Among Canadian stocks, Royal Bank of Canada rose 2.2 per cent, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 4 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. rose 2.3 per cent.
The gains bring the winning streak for U.S. indexes to three days in a row and follow an announcement by central banks from developed economies, including the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada, that they would lower dollar funding for European banks, easing liquidity strains.
David Berman