Dow tops 13,000 on hopes for Europe

Markets began to rally Thursday, July 26, after European Central... — Markets began to rally Thursday, July 26, after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said fiscal policy leaders would do “whatever it takes” within the organization's mandate to preserve the euro. (July 23, 2012) Credit: AFP/Getty Images

July 27, 2012

For a second day, the stock market powered higher after European leaders, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, pledged to protect the union of 17 countries that use the euro. The Dow Jones industrial average blew past 13,000 Friday, a key psychological marker that it hadn't hit since early May.

It climbed 187.73 points to close Friday at 13,075.66. It's added just a fraction less than 400 points in two days. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 1.91 percent to 1,385.97. The Nasdaq composite index rose 2.24 percent to 2,958.09.

It wasn't as if the economy didn't have any troubling signs. In fact, they abounded: The U.S. economy grew an anemic 1.5 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. The Thomson Reuters / University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell in July as people worried about job prospects. And Facebook and Starbucks shares dropped sharply after reporting disappointing quarterly results.

But investors homed in on a couple of remarks coming from Europe. Most notably, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande released a joint statement saying they were "determined to do everything to protect the eurozone." -- AP

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