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Oil Prices Down and Stock Prices Up

NEW YORK – Wall Street at least temporarily shrugged off some of its many concerns Wednesday and bounded higher thanks to a drop in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 276 points, or 2.5 percent, posting its best daily gain in three months.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index also gained 2.5 percent, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index surged 3.1 percent. Investors exited government bonds and back into stocks as it appeared that the slowing economy will curtail demand for fuel and, in turn, energy costs.

Light, sweet crude fell $4.14 to settle at $134.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, bringing its two-day decline to $10.58.