US stocks soar after positive reports

A trio of positive economic reports – from jobless claims to manufacturing - boosted Wall Street today as investors grew more confident that the economic recovery was firmly under way. The Dow Jones industrials climbed 102 points to a 19-month high.

Buying accelerated in the late afternoon, triggered by trading related to tomorrow’s quadruple-witching day, the quarterly expiration of index futures and options as well as individual stock futures and options, analysts said.