DJIA's Fireworks: Best Week in Two Years
U.S. stocks notched their biggest weekly jump in two years, as investors pounced on fresh data suggesting the economy could be slogging its way out of its recent malaise.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up up 168.43 points, or 1.4%, to 12582.77 on Friday, for a 5.4% gain for the week, its best performance on a percentage basis since July 2009. By points--the Dow tacked on 648.19 in five days--the Dow had its best week since November 2008.</br></br>Driving the gains was an easing in anxiety over the U.S. economy and Europe's debt troubles. On Friday, an update on the U.S. manufacturing sector showed brisk expansion in June, representing one of the month's first prominent readings on the economy.</br></br>The report was especially well-taken a day after a regional manufacturing survey of Chicago-area purchasing managers for June that also handily beat economists' expectations.</br></br>"This is a great indication that the manufacturing sector is turning around," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. "I expect manufacturing will take us out of the soft patch and lead economic growth in the second half of the year."