Stocks Surge for Second Straight Day

U.S. stocks ended Thursday with the largest advance on optimism over U.S. economic prospects. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 323.35 points, or 1.84%, to 17,907.87. The S&P 500 added 36.24 points, or 1.79%, to 2,062.14. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 85.72 points, or 1.84%, to 4,736.19.

Consumers increased their use of credit in November by the slowest pace in a year, Federal Reserve data released Thursday show. Consumer credit grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.2% in November, for a gain of $14.1 billion to $3.30 trillion, the Fed said.

Honda Motor Co has agreed to pay $70 million to the U.S. government in penalties for failing to report hundreds of injuries, deaths and other consumer claims involving its cars, transportation officials said on Thursday.

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) plans to shut about 40 stores on or about April 4, cutting 2,250 jobs, spokeswoman Daphne Avila said in an email on Thursday.