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European moves help send stocks up

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Stock prices rose around the world Friday after Greece and Italy took steps to reform their struggling economies.

The Dow Jones industrial average was recently up 272.46 points or 2.3% to 12,166.25, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 2.1%, or 25.83 points, to 1265.52, bringing the index again into positive territory for the year.

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Leading indexes rose even more sharply across Europe, jumping 3.1% in Germany and 2.7% in France.

Indexes are up for the second consecutive day after a big drop on Wednesday, when fear spread that Italy may be unable to contain its debt crisis. On Friday, Italy’s Senate passed an economic reform bill that will cut government spending. Meanwhile, Greece swore in a former central banker as its new prime minister.

In the U.S., a University of Michigan index of consumer confidence rose more than expected from October to November, reaching its highest level in 5 months.

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-- Nathaniel Popper

twitter.com/nathanielpopper

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