Stocks Surge at the Start on Europe Agreement

U.S. stocks began sharply higher on Friday after European Union leaders agreed to moves intended to bolster the economies of the region’s more troubled nations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 175.21 points, or 1.39%, to 12,777.47. The S&P 500 added 20.55 points, or 1.55%, to 1,349.59. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 47.22 points, or 1.66%, to 2,896.71.

European leaders defied low expectations in a closely watched summit meeting, delivering a range of firefighting measures early Friday morning aimed at bringing down soaring borrowing costs for Italy and Spain and agreeing to establish a single supervisor for euro-zone banks.

Consumers cut back on spending in May and increased their savings, another sign that the U.S. economy has cooled off, government data showed Friday. Personal spending fell less than 0.1% in May, the first decline since last November, the Commerce Department said. And spending for April and March were revised lower.

Gold futures rallied on Friday, as the U.S. dollar sank against other major currencies after European leaders put forward a plan to stabilize the region’s banking sector. Gold for August delivery (CNS:GCQ2) surged $46.80, or 3%, to $1,597.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude-oil futures jumped Friday after European leaders unveiled a plan to address the region’s distressed banking sector. Crude for August delivery climbed $4.16, or 5.4%, to $81.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, putting the contract on pace for weekly gains of around 2%.