Wall Street Set for More Gains After Best Day in December - East Idaho News
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Wall Street Set for More Gains After Best Day in December

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GETTY B 102511 WallStreetStock?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1324468437260Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Wall Street is poised for more gains on Wednesday after coming off its best day so far this month; stock futures are up ahead of the opening bell.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 337 points, boosted in part by a better than expected housing starts report from November. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 also made considerable gains, rising 81 points and 36 points, respectively.

Overseas, European stocks are trading higher Wednesday after the European Central Bank announced it will lend 489 billion euros (roughly around $640 billion) to banking firms as it tries to bolster the region’s stressed financial system. The ECB says more than 500 banks took the loans. The loan program is an attempt to reassure markets that banks will have long term financing after problems triggered by the euro zone debt crisis.

In Asia, stocks mostly ended the day with gains. South Korea’s Kospi soared 3.09 percent on Wednesday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 2.13 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.86 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei index climbed 1.48 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite, on the other hand, fell 1.12 percent.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

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