Dow has best day since March 2009

The Dow Jones industrial average posted its biggest one-day gain today since March 2009, following news of a move by central banks to ease strains in financial markets, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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The Dow gained 490.05 points, or 4.2 percent, to end the day at 12,045.68. It is the largest point and percentage jump since March 23, 2009, when the index rose by 497 points, or 6.8 percent, the L.A. Times reported.

The broader S& P 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index had their best days since August, Reuters reported. The S&P 500 rose 51.77 points, or 4.3 percent, to 1,246.96. The Nasdaq composite index surged 104.83 points, or 4.2 percent, to 2,620.34.

The decision of the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland to reduce the cost of the temporary dollar loans they offer to banks was not the only news that pushed markets higher.

According to Reuters:

Further encouraging investors, the latest U.S. data suggested the U.S. economy was moving more solidly toward recovery. The U.S. private sector added the most jobs in nearly a year in November, while business activity in the U.S. Midwest grew faster than expected in November.

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"There were a range of different indicators on different parts of the U.S. economy, and they all did well," Paul Ashworth, an economist with Capital Economics, told the L.A. Times.

“The economic backdrop continues to improve,” Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial Corp. in Boston, told Bloomberg Businessweek. “Then, you mix in the policy action across the globe to ease liquidity concerns. I don't think there's any doubt that the U.S. economy is going to avoid a recession.”