NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks staged one of their strongest rallies of the year Tuesday, erasing a big decline from the day before, after a Federal Reserve official said he supported more measures to stimulate the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 162 points, and every major category of stock in the U.S. market closed higher.
Charles Evans, president of the Fed's Chicago bank, told Bloomberg News that he supported action to produce faster job growth, including having the Fed commit to super-low interest rates until unemployment falls significantly.
Materials companies, industrial companies and banks rose the most, but each of the 10 major categories of stock in the Standard & Poor's 500 climbed. Energy stocks also had an impressive day after the price of oil rose from an eight-month low.
The big rally in U.S. stocks on Tuesday came despite more discouraging signs from Europe. Spain's borrowing costs jumped for a second day, to the highest level since Spain adopted the euro currency.
In the U.S., the Dow rose 162.57 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 12,573.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 15.25 points to 1,324.18, and the Nasdaq composite rose 33.34 to 2,843.07.