Wall Street stocks jumped today, pushing up the Dow Jones industrials by more than 100 points as a report that two companies are trying to buy Alcoa Inc. stoked investors’ hopes for a pickup in takeover activity.

Wall Street surged higher today, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials past 12,500 for the first time as year-end bargain hunters picked up stocks across a variety of sectors.

US stocks dropped today, extending investors’ losses for the third straight session and pushing the Dow Jones industrial average below 11,000 for the first time since March 9.

US stocks closed mixed today as sagging energy prices and a strong advance by Honeywell International Inc. sent the Dow Jones industrials higher, but downgrades of Apple Computer Inc. dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lower.