Investors bounded into 2012, pushing stocks up today despite a litany of lingering concerns — from piles of sovereign debt in Europe to the stuttering U.S. economy.
The S&P Retail Index, a measure of U.S. retail stocks, rose 0.8 percent, or 4.48 points, to 527.68 as trading settled and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.5 percent, or 179.90 points, to 12,397.46.
Retail stocks rose just 2.9 percent last year as the Dow advanced 5.5 percent.
The gainers included Saks Inc., up 4.3 percent to $10.17; Quiksilver Inc., 3.3 percent to $3.73; American Eagle Outfitters Inc., 2.8 percent to $15.72; VF Corp. 2.1 percent to $129.67; Guess, Inc., 2 percent to $30.40, and The Warnaco Group Inc. 1.8, percent to $50.94.
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Markets were fueled by a report from the Institute for Supply Chain Management showing continued growth in the manufacturing sector last month. The group’s U.S. manufacturing index rose to 53.9 last month from 52.7 in November. A reading over 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
Optimism related to global manufacturing boosted stocks in related industries such as mining and buoyed the market.
The FTSE 100 in London closed up 2.3 percent at 5,699.91, the CAC 40 in Paris finished up 0.7 percent at 3,245.40, the DAX in Frankfurt ended up 1.5 percent at 6,166.57 and the FTSE MIB in Milan was up 1.2 percent at 15,645.56.
Most fashion and luxury stocks in the region were on the rise. Asos.com, the online retailer, surged 7.8 percent to 13.31 pounds, while Burberry rose 4.9 percent to 12.43 pounds and Richemont notched up a 4.5 percent gain to 49.66 Swiss francs. Only a few fell, with Inditex down 0.5 percent to 63.90 euros, Yoox down 1.9 percent to 8.21 euros and Marcolin down 0.9 percent to 3.23 euros.
The pound traded at $1.55 while the euro weighed in at $1.29.