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U.S. stocks -- and stocks worldwide -- jumped today on hopes that a new deal to fix Europe's debt crisis will lead to more global financial stability.

In the biggest rally since since Aug. 11, the Dow Jones industrials ($INDU +2.86%) were briefly up as many as 415 points and closed above 12,000 for the first time since Aug. 1. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX +3.43%) and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX +3.32%) moved into positive territory for the year for the first time since Aug. 3.

European stocks soared on the news, which broke after 3:30 a.m. local time in Brussels, Belgium, where leaders of the eurozone nations were holding their second summit in three days.

An irony of the glee that pervaded markets today was that the euro rose sharply against the dollar. As a result, commodity prices rallied strongly. Gold (-GC) nearly reached $1,750 an ounce. Light sweet crude oil (-CL) in New York jumped above $93 a barrel and is up 17% for the month.

The Dow closed up 340 points, or 2.9%, to 12,209. The S&P 500 climbed 43 points, or 3.4%, to 1,285, and the Nasdaq surged 88 points, or 3.3%, to 2,739.

http://money.msn.com/market-news/post.aspx?post=f45b8caa-a158-4c79-bf20-e91bce022ddb&_nwpt=1