Insurer Leads 259-Point Surge

Stocks manage to stay afloat despite terrible jobs report

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 5, 2008 3:29 PM CST

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Insurer Leads 259-Point Surge — Specialist Christopher Trotta, right, directs trades at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in this undated file photo. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks rallied at the end of the session today despite a grim November jobs report that showed unemployment rising to 6.7%, MarketWatch reports. Insurer Hartford Financial led financials higher after announcing that its business were doing better than it had expected. The Dow rose 259.18 to close at 8,635.42. The Nasdaq gained 63.75, settling at 1,509.31, while the S&P 500 climbed 30.85 to settle at 876.07.

Hartford shares gained 100% after the company raised its 2008 earnings outlook and said its capital position was strong. Citigroup managed to ride the wave in financials to a 4.33% gain. In another glimmer of good news in the credit markets, recent rate cuts by the ECB and British Central Bank saw the 3-month Libor fall 0.01% to 2.19%.

For the week, the Dow lost 2.2%, the Nasdaq fell 1.7%, and the S&P 500 lost 2.3%.

(More Dow Jones stories.)

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