Dow surges 308 points on 'fiscal cliff' deal - latimes.com

Dow surges 308 points on 'fiscal cliff' deal - latimes.com: "NEW YORK — Investors poured back into the stock market on the first trading day of 2013 in a rally seen as a sigh of relief that President Obama and Congress were able to avert the so-called fiscal cliff and an immediate economic downturn.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 308.41 points, or 2.4%, to 13,412.55 on Wednesday — the best one-day rise in more than a year. Wall Street followed rallies in European and Asian equities markets after Washington's last-minute fiscal deal late Tuesday.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 36.23 points, or 2.5%, to 1,462.42. It was the S&P's best first-trading-day jump since 2009, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst for S&P Dow Jones Indices. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 92.75 points, or 3.1%, to 3,112.26.

Though Washington may have averted an immediate downturn, political leaders put off stalemates over broad spending cuts in military and social programs to reduce the country's long-term deficit."

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Stocks rally on relief from 'fiscal cliff'

Stocks rally on relief from 'fiscal cliff': "Investors breathed a sigh of relief and pushed stocks sharply higher Wednesday after lawmakers agreed late Tuesday on a deal to avert the 'fiscal cliff' of tax increases and spending cuts.

At one point, the Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 270 points.

Without a deal, automatic spending cuts and tax hikes would have gone into effect, threatening the economy.

The deal doesn't end the battle between lawmakers, as Republicans have vowed to revisit more aggressive spending cuts as the need to boost the country's $16.4 tillion debt ceiling looms in February."

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