S&P 500 Has Best Final-Day Gain Since ’74 on Budget Talks

U.S. stocks surged on the last day of a year by the most since 1974 as lawmakers neared a budget deal to prevent more than $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases. Treasuries slid while gold rose.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 1.7 percent to 1,426.19 at 4 p.m. in New York for its biggest gain since Nov. 19. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed 0.3 percent higher. Ten-year Treasury yields were up six basis points at 1.76 percent, still the lowest-ever year-end close. The Japanese yen weakened, capping the biggest annual drop versus the dollar in seven years. Gold extended a 12th annual gain, the longest streak since at least 1920.