Markets were up sharply today on calming words from bond insurer MBIA, with the Dow closing at 12,650.36, up 207.53. The company said its triple-A rating was not vulnerable and that it was solvent enough to weather the mortgage crisis, MarketWatch reports. The Nasdaq gained 40.86 to 2,389.86; the S&P 500 moved up 22.74 to 1,378.55.
A strategist credited MBIA's reassurance with the day’s success, “helping financials and helping lift most everything else" after the Dow fell more than 100 points at the opening bell on news of the largest weekly gain in jobless benefits since September, 2005. In other news, Amazon furrowed brows with a poor income forecast and Starbucks reported falling traffic at its coffee shops. (More Dow Jones stories.)