Stocks surge; Hewlett-Packard leads Dow higher

Encouraging signs from two of the most important zones of the world economy, the powerhouse of China and the debt-burdened countries of Europe, drove the U.S. stock market Thursday to one of its best days this year.

Goldman to pay $22 million to settle "huddles" case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $22 million to settle civil charges stemming from weekly "huddles" in which the bank encouraged its stock research analysts to share trading ideas with firm traders who then passed tips to a select group of top clients. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said on Thursday the Wall Street bank didn't have adequate policies and procedures to make sure non-public information wasn't passed on from its analysts. ...

Lower euro-zone yields, China GDP view lift Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose more than 1 percent on Thursday as lower Italian bond yields eased some euro-zone concerns and rumors about China's strong GDP growth bolstered investors' appetite for risk. The S&P 500 popped above its 50-day moving average in a sign that traders may see the recent pullback of nearly 5 percent as an opportunity to catch up with the benchmark's performance. The index is up more than 10 percent for the year to date. ...