Stocks Rally, Euro Strengthens as Europe Pledges Debt Resolution

By Stuart Wallace and Rita Nazareth

October 10, 2011 at 8:08 PM UTC

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Stocks rose, giving the Standard & Poor’s Index its biggest gain since Aug. 23, and the euro surged the most since July 2010 versus the dollar after the leaders of France and Germany pledged to deliver a plan to stem the debt crisis. Commodities advanced for a fourth day.

The S&P 500 jumped 3.4 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 330.06 points to 11,433.18 at 4 p.m. New York time. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.7 percent to cap a four-day rally of 8.5 percent, its largest over that stretch of time since November 2008. The 17-nation euro currency appreciated 2 percent versus the dollar as it strengthened against 10 of 16 major peers. The S&P GSCI gauge of raw materials increased 2.1 percent. Costs to protect against a European sovereign default decreased.