Signs of slowing job losses in the U.S. sparked the best one-day gain in stocks in more than two weeks as investors bet more aggressively on economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 122.06 points higher, up 1.2%, at 10566.20, its best one-day rise in both point and percentage terms since Feb. 16. The average was led by less than three points off its intraday peak hit heading into the last hour of trading. The average was led by gains of more than 3% each in Alcoa, Boeing, and American Express. In the week's most widely anticipated economic release, the Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls fell by 36,000 in February, well below economists' consensus expectation for a drop of about 75,000 driven in part by severe weather. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, better than the 9.8% rate economists expected. The jobs report comes on the heels of recent readings of manufacturing, service-sector activity, and retail sales that have also shown improvement, reinforcing the view of many traders and analysts that the U.[Read more...]