U.S. stocks recover from two-day slump

U.S. stocks rebounded strongly on Wednesday, helped by robust jobs report, after two days of severe sell-offs on renewed European worries. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 178.08 points, or 1.53 percent, to 11,836.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 19.62 points, or 1.61 percent, to 1,237.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 33.02 points, or 1.27 percent, to 2,639.98. The rally came after the blue-chip Dow plunged more than 570 points in only two sessions amid the bankruptcy of GM global, the first U.S. casualty of EU debt woes, and an unexpected referendum call from Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. Strong corporate earnings and a better employment report helped turn markets around. According to the private payroll company Automatic Data Processing, company payrolls rose by 110,000 in October thanks to the strong gains in the service industry. Meanwhile, September number was also revised higher. Helping the gains, the Federal Reserve cut its forecasts for the U.S. economy but still much more bullish than a lot of economists. Moreover, Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that the Fed is prepared to shore up the economy when needed.