U.S. stocks rallied, almost wiping out this year’s decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid takeover deals, higher-than-estimated earnings at Caterpillar Inc. and progress in talks to tame Europe’s debt crisis. The S&P 500 increased 1.3 percent to 1,254.19 as of 4 p.m. New York time, paring its 2011 retreat to 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 104.83 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,913.62 today. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 2.4 percent, erasing its year-to-date decline.
For more from BostonGlobe.com, sign up or log in below
To continue, please sign up or log in to BostonGlobe.com
Access the full articles and quality reporting of The Boston Globe at BostonGlobe.com
Sign up
Unlimited Access to BostonGlobe.com for 4 weeks for only 99¢.
Are you a Boston Globe home delivery subscriber?
Get FREE access as part of your print subscription.
BostonGlobe.com subscriber
Click to continue reading this article or to log in to BostonGlobe.com.
