Stocks rally into 2013

By Maureen Farrell @CNNMoneyInvestJanuary 2, 2013: 11:21 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

U.S. stocks surged into the New Year, after U.S. lawmakers reached a last minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

"What's been hanging over the markets for the last couple of months has finally been released," said Sean Kelly, a managing director at Knight Capital Group.

"The rally today is 100% about the end of the fiscal cliff, and people are buying with both hands."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 230 points, or 1.8%, Wednesday. Gains were broad, with all 30 Dow stocks showing solid gains.
The S&P 500 also rose 1.8%, while the Nasdaq spiked 2.4%.

Financial shares led the gains, with Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) rising between 2% and 4%. Credit card companies Visa (V, Fortune 500) and MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500) both hit all-time highs.

Tech stocks were also faring well, with Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) logging big increases.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/02/investing/stocks-markets/