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Wall Street starts new year with a surge

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Wall Street indexes started the new year with sharp gains on Monday, extending the late-2010 rally on optimistic signs about a global recovery.

The Nasdaq hit a 10-year high in intraday trading, driven largely by gains in Apple, which hit an all-time high of $330.20 and is up 56 percent since the end of 2009. The Nasdaq, however, is still half of the all-time high of 2000.

Shares got a lift from the “January effect” when fund managers are no longer engaged in year-end window dressing and focus on shares that they find attractive.

Bolstering the economic picture, data showed the American manufacturing sector grew for a 17th consecutive month in December, while construction spending increased again in November.

The global outlook also received a lift after data showed China’s factory inflation cooled in December, easing concerns the government would raise interest rates or take other steps to control growth.

Full Story Wall Street Starts New Year With a Surge – NYTimes.com