Blue Chips Jump 227.64 Points; Labor, GDP Data Fuel Optimism
The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged its strongest percentage gain since March, as a wave of optimism swept through the stock market following news of moderate third-quarter gains in inflation and labor costs.</br></br>Many investors still believe that the Federal Reserve will raise its interest-rate target by another quarter point on Nov. 16. But now they are hoping that the Fed will be able to leave rates alone for a while afterward. Some even think the Fed may avoid raising rates in November.</br></br>In the fourth-heaviest trading day ever on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow industrials advanced 227.64 points, or 2.19%, to 10622.53, the highest percentage rise since they put on 2.84% on March 5, and the fourth-highest percentage gain of the year.</br></br>The blue-chip index still stands 6% below its Aug. 25 record. But the Nasdaq Composite Index, heavy in popular technology stocks, now has zoomed to within 40.76 points, or 1.4%, of its Oct. 11 record close of 2915.95. Yesterday, it rose 72.70, or 2.59%, at 2875.22.</br></br>Bonds also soared and the dollar was mixed.