It turned out to be an incredible day for the markets today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI), rising over 2%, and the Nasdaq gaining 3%. Not surprisingly, positive news out of Europe was the main catalyst for today’s big jump. European leaders agreed to let its rescue fund directly give to troubled banks, which will help the countries avoid increasing their budget deficits. That’s good news for investors, especially considering the low expectations from the summit.

Here’s how the three major U.S. indexes reacted to the news today.

Index

Change

Ending Value

Dow Jones Industrial Average277.83 [2.20%]12,880.09
Nasdaq85.56 [3.00%]2,935.05
S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC)33.12 [2.49%]1,362.16

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was the Dow’s biggest gainer on the day, up 5.7%, while fellow mega bank JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) was the biggest loser, and the only Dow stock in the red on the day. That’s strange, as these stocks usually move in tandem, but more bad news about JPMorgan’s trading loss drove shares down. There were two other iconic American companies, Ford (NYSE: F) and Nike, that struggled big time today, despite the huge rally for the market. Check out the video below for more on what moved the markets, and what individual stocks were the biggest movers in both directions.

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