U.S. stocks headed sharply higher Wednesday after Automatic Data Processing Inc. said 93,000 jobs were added to the economy October to November. Increased concerns over government debt in Europe helped knock the Dow Jones industrial average back 1 percent for the month of November. But stronger fundamentals gave investors encouragement on the first day of December.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm labor productivity increased at a 2.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, in line with market expectations.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 189.47 points or 1.72 percent to 11,195.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 19.17 or 1.62 percent to 1,199.72. The Nasdaq composite index added 45.79 or 1.83 percent to 2,544.02.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note lost 1 1/32 to yield 2.91 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3076 compared to Tuesday's $1.2981. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 84.21 yen from Tuesday's 83.7 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.51 percent, 51.01, to 9,988.05.