U.S. markets surged Friday on reports New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner would likely be chosen as the next Treasury Secretary.
A mild upswing blossomed into a full blown rally late in the session without a formal announcement, on news the Federal Bureau of Investigation had begun calling Geithner confidants as part of a vetting process, The Wall Street Journal reported.
By close, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 494.13 points, or 6.54 percent, to 8,046.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 6.32 percent, 47.59 points, to 800.03. The Nasdaq composite index gained 68.523 points, 5.18 percent, to 1,384.35.
On the New York Stock Exchange 2,027 stocks advanced and 1,161 declined on a volume of 10.8 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 1 24/32 to yield 3.201 percent.
The dollar was mixed. The euro rose to $1.2587 compared to $1.2474 Thursday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 95.92 yen from 94.14 yen Thursday.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei average gained 207.75 points to 7,910.79, up 2.7 percent.
The FTSE index in London fell 2.43 percent, off 94.03 points to 3,780.96.
