The market certainly began Thanksgiving week by giving investors something to be thankful for. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.56%) spiked 207 points, or 1.65%, to close at 12,795. It was the biggest one-day gain for the index in two months, and not a single one of the Dow's 30 components lost ground.
The market euphoria was largely driven by indications that a resolution to the dreaded $607 billion "fiscal cliff" is on the way. President Obama said yesterday he was confident a solution could be reached, just days after House Speaker John Boehner hinted that the fiscal talks were on the right track. If an agreement is reached, it would be a huge boon to the markets, which have been driven down in recent weeks on fears of political gridlock on the issue.
Bank of America (BAC 0.32%) was the biggest gainer in the Dow today, tacking on more than 4%. Not only does the Dow's best performer of 2012 tend to exhibit more volatility than its peers, but investors have been encouraged by recent analyst upgrades and hopes of a turnaround at the major bank. Expectations that the financial giant may raise its dividend in the near future have also driven the stock up.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 0.65%) posted the Dow's second-biggest gains, jumping up 3.5% to keep in line with a good all-round day for technology. Perhaps the fact that the most frequently discussed (and without a doubt the largest) of all tech stocks, Apple (AAPL +0.00%), had a great day helped HP out a bit. Investors bought Apple stock in droves today, sending it up more than 7% after a Barron's weekend story touted Apple shares as undervalued.
Another stock that soared on Monday was the 3-D printing company, 3D Systems (DDD +1.59%), which shot up 8.5% after the company held a conference call to defend its accounting practices. As the marketer of a disruptive technology itself, the confidence investors gained in the company's financial situation dovetailed nicely with a bullish day for tech on Wall Street to send shares through the roof.
