New York - UPI
U.S. stocks jumped Thursday morning on a pledge by the European Central Bank president to support the euro. Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB would do \"whatever it takes,\" to support the currency shared by 17 nations that are in the midst of a collective financial crisis. Stocks made solid gains in Europe. With trading still open, the FTSE 100 index in Britain was up 1.71 percent while the CAC 40 in France rose 3.8 percent. The FTSE MIB index in Italy soared 5.5 percent. In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 176.00 points or 1.39 percent to 12,852.05. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 index added 16.91 points or 1.26 percent to 1,354.80. Tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 32.45 points or 1.14 percent to 2,886.69. The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 6/32 to yield 1.424 percent. The euro rose to $1.2292 from Wednesday\'s $1.2157. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 78.28 yen from 78.15 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.92 percent, 77.20, to 8,443.10.