Stocks Soar on Central Banks Action

tocks were sharply higher in early trading on Wednesday after major central banks around the world announced coordinated actions to provide liquidity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 382.17 points to 11,937.80. The S&P 500 Index climbed 38.74 points to 1,233.93. The Nasdaq Composite rose 76.12 points to 2,591.63.

Major central banks around the globe took coordinated action Wednesday to ease the strains on the world’s financial system, saying they would make it easier for banks to get dollars if they need them. The European Central Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland are took part.

China reduced bank reserve levels Wednesday to release money for lending and help shore up slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy as Europe’s debt crisis and high U.S. unemployment hurt export demand.

Private sector job growth accelerated in November as employers created the most jobs in nearly a year, prompting economists to raise their forecasts for Friday’s more comprehensive U.S. labor report. The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private employers added 206,000 jobs this month, surpassing economists’ expectations for a gain of 130,000 jobs. It was the biggest gain since December 2010.

U.S. workers increased their productivity over the summer by the most in a year and a half but the gain was smaller than initially thought. Productivity rose at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the July-September quarter, the Labor Department said. That was slower than the 3.1 percent the government estimated a month ago. Labor costs fell at a 2.5 percent rate, a slightly larger decline than the 2.4 percent drop first estimated.