NEW YORK, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Big Blue and big hopes of an interest rate cut played big roles in helping U.S. stock indexes rally and close higher Monday.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 171.85 points higher, 1.36 percent, at 12,778.15. The Nasdaq composite index added 38.36 points, 1.57 percent, and finished at 2,478.30, while the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 15.23 points, 1.09 percent, and closed at 1,416.25.
Traders said they hoped Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks about "substantive" action by central bank policy-makers to boost the economy translates into a steep interest-rate cut. The Federal Open Market Committee meets Jan. 29-30.
Also helping stocks rally was IBM's fourth-quarter outlook. Preliminary results indicated its earnings from continuing operations were up 24 percent and revenue climbed 10 percent.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,132 stocks gained and 1,016 fell on listed volume of 944 million shares.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 4/32, yielding 3.782 percent.
The euro exchanged at $1.4870 from $1.4778 late Friday. The dollar traded at 108.15 yen from 108.99 yen.
The U.K. FTSE 100 index closed up 0.2 percent to 6,215.70.
Japanese stock markets were closed Monday for a holiday.
