Big gains for Dow

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 254.71 points, or 2.3%, to close at 11,539.25.

It is now down just 0.3% for the year. It had been down as much as 7.4 % for the year on August 10.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 33.28 points, or 2.8%, to 1,210.08.

The widely used market benchmark is now up 8.1% since on August 8, when it hit low for the year because of a downgrade of the US government’s credit rating.