Around the World's Markets: New York

WALL STREET staged a blockbuster rally yesterday, with the Dow Jones index up more than 2 per cent and the Nasdaq rising 4 per cent after a reassuring government report on the nation's labour market.

The Dow closed up 235.24 points, or 2.17 per cent, at 11,078.45. The Nasdaq scored its largest point gain in history, rising 108.87 points, or 3.98 per cent, to 2,843.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index gained 38.13 points, or 2.89 per cent, to close at 1,357.24.