Visa boosts Dow, S&P nears 2000 as Wall St rallies

Reuters
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, boosted by a strong reading on quarterly economic growth and by another round of upbeat earnings reports including Visa, which rose 10 percent and accounted for more than 140 points in the Dow industrials. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 221.24 points, or 1.3 percent, to 17,195.55, the S&P 500 gained 12.33 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,994.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 16.91 points, or 0.37 percent, to 4,566.14. Healthcare and utilities, both up nearly 20 percent year-to-date, led gains on the S&P 500. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski)