Dow Soars 340, May Have Best October Ever

Wall Street had a banner day in the wake of the financial accord in Europe, with banks stocks leading the way:

• Dow: Up 340 (2.9%) to 12,209; (it had been up more than 400 points in the final hour)
• Nasdaq: Up 88 (3.3%) to 2,739
• S&P 500: Up 43 (3.4%) to 1,285

With only two trading days left in the month, it's shaping up to be the best October in the Dow's 115-year history, notes MarketWatch. The Dow is up more than 11% since Oct. 1, ahead of the 10.7% monthly rise in 1982.

"It's all coming out of Europe, hopefully with an agreement coming to fruition," an equity trader tells the Wall Street Journal. "I'm not sure if we're out of the woods with additional problems that could surface overseas. There's still a lot to see." Good news on the GDP didn't hurt, either. (More stock market stories.)