Dow Shatters Record, up 280 Points in One Day

Wall Street soared Thursday, propelling the Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones industrials into record territory as bright spots among generally sluggish retail sales allowed investors to toss aside concerns about the health of the economy.A new bid for aluminum maker Alcan Inc. added to the upbeat mood of the session, which saw stocks put up their biggest gains of the year. The rise marked a sharp contrast to the start of the week, when stocks fell sharply amid concerns that some hedge funds could buckle under ill-placed bets on the housing sector.Though retail sales generally appeared to be crimped last month by higher gasoline prices and a tepid housing market, and the outlook for the coming months was difficult to ascertain, the overall reading wasn't as dour as some investors expected. Several reports beat Street expectations notably that of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, which posted a better-than-expected 2.4 percent jump in sales at stores open at least a year."It's relief that things weren't as bad as people expected," said Bill Schultz, chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates, referring to the retailers' reports and the economy at large. "We're maybe getting slower growth but not the fall-of-the-cliff economic scenarios," he said of investors' reading of the economy.But, Schultz said, "I think it is, over the near-term, a little bit over done, certainly on a two-day basis," he added, referring to the rally.In late afternoon trading, the S&P 500 rose 21.96, or 1.45 percent, to 1,540.72, above its record close of 1,539.18, set June 4. The Dow rose 232.73, or 1.71 percent, to 13,810.60; its record close is 13,676.32, also set June 4.The Nasdaq composite index rose 39.53, or 1.49 percent, to 2,691.32.The report from Wal-Mart, one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow, helped ease some investors' worries about the health of the consumer ahead of the Commerce Department's Friday report on U.S. retail sales.