Stocks up after big holiday-sales weekend

A weekend of strong holiday shopping in the United States and radical proposals for stanching Europe's debt crisis sent stocks higher Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 291 points, its biggest gain in a month.

European finance ministers discussed radical measures to stop the debt crisis from destroying the 17-nation currency union. In a sign of how desperate the situation has become, one proposal being discussed ahead of a financial summit Tuesday calls for having nations cede control over their budgets to a central European authority. Another plan calls for Europe's most stable economies like Germany, France and Austria to jointly sell bonds to provide assistance to the region's most indebted members.

Retail stocks, meanwhile, rose after initial reports showed a record number of shoppers hit the mall or bought gifts online during the holiday weekend. Shares of Macy's Inc. rose 4.7 percent, and Best Buy Co. stock rose 3.4 percent. Thanksgiving weekend is a make-or-break time for many retailers. Black Friday is often the biggest retail sales day of the year.

The Dow rose 291.23 points, or 2.59 percent, to 11,523.01. The Dow fell 564 points last week on fear Europe's debt crisis was spreading to large countries like Spain, Italy and even Germany.

As fears of an imminent meltdown in Europe ebbed, U.S. investors focused on the strong weekend of holiday shopping. The turnout added to a growing set of indicators, including steady drops in the number of new applications for unemployment benefits, that suggest the U.S. economy is continuing to heal. As recently as August there were widespread concerns the United States could enter another recession.

"This goes in stark contrast to the gloom and doom that had been over markets," said Rob Lutts, president of Salem, Mass. investment firm Cabot Money Management.