US STOCKS-Wall St rallies on strong jobs, factory data

                                

                                
 * U.S. private sector job creation jumps in November
                                
 * Euro bounces off 10-week lows against U.S. dollar
                                
 * Chinese factory report supports global growth bets
                                
 * Indexes up: Dow 1.7 pct, S&P 1.6 pct, Nasdaq 1.9 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to morning trading)
                                
 By Rodrigo Campos
                                
 NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied on
Wednesday as upbeat U.S. and Chinese data lifted investor
confidence about a global economic recovery.
                                
 The U.S. private sector posted its largest jobs gain in
three years and manufacturing grew for a 16th month running,
while China posted strong factory production data. For details
see [ID:nN01127417] and [ID:nTOE6B001C]
                                
 "Manufacturing data shows a continuation of the positive
trend and new orders were pretty strong and employment has been
improving," said Zahid Siddique, associate portfolio manager at
Gabelli Equity Trust in Rye, New York, noting overseas data was
also supportive of stocks.
                                
 "Overall, the combination of that data is driving the
market higher," he said.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> jumped 186.71
points, or 1.70 percent, to 11,192.73. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 19.03 points, or 1.61 percent, to
1,199.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 46.57
points, or 1.86 percent, to 2,544.80.
                                
 The S&P 500 <.SPX> traded above its 14-day moving average
for the first time in eleven sessions and was having its best
day in almost a month, but still faced strong resistance at
1,200.
                                
 "If we close above 1,200, the next stop is 1,225 to 1,230,"
said Tom Alexander, head of Alexander Trading in Savannah,
Georgia.
                                
 That target area coincides with a recent two-year high and
the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement of the benchmark's slide
from October 2007 to March 2009, a key technical indicator.
                                
 United Technologies Inc <UTX.N> jumped 3 percent to $77.46.
Shares of the diversified manufacturer were also boosted by
European planemaker Airbus' plans to upgrade its best-selling
A320 medium-haul jets from 2016 with new engines.
[ID:nLDE6B008X]
                                
 The S&P energy index <.GSPE> rose 2.2 percent, leading
gains on the S&P 500 on expectations that a stronger Chinese
economy would mean increased demand for energy.
                                
 Further supporting stocks, the euro rose against the U.S.
dollar as pressure on the euro zone's higher-yielding sovereign
debt eased as traders bet the European Central Bank (ECB) would
step up its bond buying program. In recent weeks, the euro and
U.S. stocks have traded in sync with each other.
                                
 "There's been a bit of a recovery trade out of Europe that
remains fluid because of this speculation over what the ECB may
or may not do," said John Brady, senior vice president at MF
Global in Chicago.
                                
 In a development closely watched by investors, U.S.
President Barack Obama named Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
and budget director Jack Lew to work with congressional
Republicans and Democrats to break a logjam over the fate of
Bush-era tax cuts. [ID:nN30268902]
  (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)