Stocks rallied across the board as optimistic investors went on a buying spree. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi followed up on his promise to protect the euro and outlined an unlimited bond-buying plan. Also, ADP employment in the U.S. non-farm private sector increased by 201,000 from July to August, stronger than increase of 143,000 jobs expected. Weekly jobless claims decreased to 365,000, down 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 377,000, below 373,000 expected. The ISM index for the service sector increased to 53.7 in August from 52.6 in July, above the 52.4 forecast. Bank of America led the market gains with a 5% advance after the bank agreed to sell Strategic Partners Inc. to private-equity investors. Amazon unveiled a new front-lit Kindle e-reader Thursday afternoon, the device called the Paperwhite, will sell for $119 and will ship Oct. 1. Amazon gained 2.10% on announcement. Micron shot up 7.8%, while SanDisk gained 8.4% on signs of a shortage in NAND flash-memory chips, which is expected to give the two semiconductor companies a lift. Seagate Technology slid 2.6%, after Needham & Co. issued a note that the co. “may see some margin declines” in light of uncertainty in the hard-drive market. Implied volatility slumped below the 14 level on moderate trading volumes.
