Dow Ends Day Up 306

Stocks are closing solidly higher on Wall Street, led by gains in banks, technology and energy companies, the AP reports. Banks rose along with bond yields Wednesday after sustaining big losses a day ago. JPMorgan Chase rose 2.3%. Investors were relieved by signs that Italy might have not hold new elections after all. Global markets had stumbled the day before on worries over the possibility of new elections that could become a referendum on Europe's third-largest economy leaving the euro. The S&P 500 index rose 34 points, or 1.3%, to 2,724. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 306 points, or 1.3%, to 24,667. The Nasdaq composite climbed 65 points, or 0.9%, to 7,462. (More stock market stories.)