国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks extend rally to second day

NEW YORK, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. stocks extended rally on Thursday, after the Dow Jones industrial average posting biggest gains in three months on Wednesday, as the latest economic data provided more evidence for a stronger recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 106.63 points, or 0.95 percent, to 11,362.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.46 points, or 1.28 percent, to 1,221.53 and the Nasdaq was up 29.92 points, or 1.17 percent, to 2,579.35.

The banking sector led the rally after Goldman Sachs said U.S. banks are on stronger footing because of an improving economy, higher equity prices and a favorable interest-rate environment.

Major indexes continued the rising momentum after the National Association of Realtors said that pending home sales rose by an unexpected 10.4 percent in October. The gain was the largest on record, giving people hope that the most-battered housing market was finally picking up.

Meanwhile, U.S. retailers reported a robust November. Data showed that same-store sales rose by an average of 6 percent last month, one of the biggest increases in three years and the latest evidence that consumers were spending more.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed the number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose 26,000 in the week ended Nov. 27 to a seasonally adjusted 436,000. But encouragingly, the four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out fluctuation in the data, edged down to a fresh two-year low.

Also supporting the market, the European Central Bank abandoned its plans to wind down emergency support for banks and government debt markets, responding to concerns that an early exit from such programs could jeopardize the euro.

Although the ECB didn't give any detail of its possible move, investors believed that the central bank will significantly increase the number of bond buying, in order to provide more financial support for those debt-burdened eurozone countries.

In other markets, crude prices continued to rise on Thursday amid upbeat U.S. economic reports. Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 1.25 dollars to 88.00 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.