NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are sharply higher after central banks in Europe and the U.S. announced a joint move to support European banks.
The European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve and three other central banks said Thursday they would provide European banks with dollars in three loan installments.
Worries that European banks would struggle to raise dollars in short-term credit markets have hung over banks in recent weeks. European banks hold large amounts of debt backed by governments in Greece and Italy, the cause of the region’s debt crisis.
Shortly before noon, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 115 points, or 1 percent, at 11,362. The S&P 500 index is up 11 points, also 1 percent, to 1,200. The Nasdaq is up 19 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,592.