DOW - Bulls fought back!

12,904.08 123.13(0.96%)

By: JeeYeon Park

CNBC.com Writer

Stocks ended near session highs Thursday, with the Dow and Nasdaq logging multi-year highs, fueled by robust economic news and as the euro rebounded against the dollar following reports the euro zone central banks agreed to exchange their existing Greek bonds for new ones.

Thanks to today's rally, all major averages are now on pace to post weekly gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 123.03 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 12,904.08, finishing at its best level since May 2008.

The S&P 500 jumped 14.81 points, or 1.10 percent, to close at 1,358.04. And the Nasdaq soared 44.02 points, or 1.51 percent, to end at 2,959.85, logging its best close level since December 2000.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell to close near 19.


“Things look like all green lights in the U.S. so stay in the U.S. and invest in U.S. based companies,” recommended Peter Andersen, CIO of Congress Wealth Management. "We’re right at the beginning of a fairly strong rally and that psychological level of [Dow] 13,000 will really bring more sideline players into the market.”

The euro rallied against the U.S. greenback after a report that the European central banks will exchange their existing Greek bond holdings for new ones in an effort to help the situation in the debt-ridden nation. The swap would take place over the weekend, according to sources. However, the ECB and Bundesbank would not comment on the report.