Investors' fears lift, stocks

The stock market started September with a jolt, turning sharply higher after encouraging reports on manufacturing sent investors seeking out riskier investments.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 255 points, its best day since July 7. That marked a sharp break from August, when the market's most widely used index turned in its worst performance for the month in nine years.

Reports of stronger-than-expected manufacturing growth in China and the United States snapped a run of discouraging data on the economy.

While the Dow gained 2.5 percent to close at 10,269.47, broader indexes also had large gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq each rose 3 percent. - AP