US stocks advance

The American stock market closed out a horrendous October, its worst month in 21 years, with a big advance today as more investors took chances on stocks turned into bargains by waves of intense selling.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 144 points on the day but ended the month down 14.1%, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 16.9% during October as the stock market fell victim to investors’ anguish over frozen credit markets and what looked like an inevitable recession.