New York – Stocks rallied for a fourth straight session Friday after a sharp jump in existing-home sales and some encouraging economic data out of Europe.
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All three major indexes hit new highs for the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 155.91, or 1.7 percent, to close at 9,505.96, bringing its total for the four-day rally to 4.1 percent.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 1.6 percent.
The other big news of the morning was a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Fed chief said the economy is on the mend but recovery is likely to be sluggish and risks still remain.