Italian lawmakers did just what observers hoped for when they approved tough austerity measures. That meant U.S. investors got to go home for the weekend happy after all the major indexes ended the day up.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.18 percent, or 259.67 points, to 12,153.46; the Nasdaq was up 2.04 percent, or 53.60 points, to 2,678.75; the Standard & Poor's 500 was up 1.95 percent, or 24.16 points, to 1,263.85; the NYSE composite was up 1.90 percent, or 141.14 points, to 7,565.09; and the AMEX composite was up 1.71 percent, or 38.71 points, to 2,301.24.
Hot Stocks
Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq:NVDA) beat estimates for its most-recent quarter and ended the day up 3.52 percent, or $0.51, to $14.98.
Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) ended the day up 5.98 percent, or $2.24, to $39.72, presumably on news Italy is moving swiftly to handle its debt issues. Other financials also perked up following the news. Barclays Plc. (NYSE:BCS) was up 4.19 percent, or $0.46, to $11.43. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was up 2.44 percent, or $0.79, to $29.33.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) beat quarterly expectations and issue positive guidance. Shares were up 5.91 percent, or $2.06, to $36.70.
Commodities and Currencies
Oil was up 1.24 percent, or $1.21, to $98.98 per barrel. Gold was up 1.69 percent, or $29.70, to $1,.788.60 per ounce. Silver was up 2.55 percent, or $0.87, to $34.96 per ounce.
The euro gained 1.05 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3750. The dollar lost 0.36 percent against the Japanese yen to 77.3750. The British pound gained 0.88 percent against the dollar to 1.6072.
International Markets
Britain's FTSE was up 1.85 percent, or 100.56 points, to 5,545.38; Germany's DAX was up 3.22 percent, or 189.22 points, to 6,057.03; France's CAC 40 was up 2.76 percent, or 84.54 points, to 3,149.38; and Italy's FTSE MIB was up 3.68 percent, or 560.51 points, to 15,778.85.
Japan's Nikkei was up 0.16 percent, or 13.67 points, to 8,514.47; Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.91 percent, or 173.28 points, to 19,137.17; Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.14 percent, or 4.04 points, to 2,790.94; India's BSE 30 was down 0.97 percent, or 169.28 points, to 17,192.82; and China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.06 percent, or 1.55 points, to 2,481.08.
Industry Watch
The computer peripherals industry was the day's big winner, up 5.44 percent. Immersion Corp. (Nasdaq:IMMR) was up 13.58 percent, or $0.66, to $5.52 on a lesser loss than expected.
The long distance carrier industry was the day's worst performer, down 0.50 percent.
Best and Worst
Pinnacle Data Systems Inc. (AMEX:PNS) was the day's big percentage gainer, up 105.22 percent, or $1.21, to $2.36 on news of a $22 million buyout offer from Avnet Inc. (NYSE:AVT). Avnet was up 4.19 percent, or $1.24, to $30.85.
Alimera Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq:ALIM) was down 74.36 percent, or $5.48, to $1.90 and became the day's biggest percentage decliner. Seems the Food and Drug Administration shot down a drug application.