The European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve and three other central banks said they would provide European banks with dollars. Worries that European banks would struggle to raise dollars in short-term credit markets have hung over banks in recent weeks.

European stock markets rallied after the announcement, with gains of 3 percent to 4 percent.

In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 163.14 points, or 1.45 percent, to 11,409.87. The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index was up 16.92 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,205.60. The Nasdaq composite index rose 31.58 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,604.13.

The Federal Reserve said early Thursday that factory output rose 0.5 percent in August, after increasing 0.6 percent in July. Autos and products increased 2.6 percent, evidence that supply chain disruptions stemming from the Japan earthquake continued to ease.

Other economic reports released on Thursday showed the rate of inflation slowed and continuing weakness in the jobs market.

The Swiss bank UBS plunged 9 percent on news that a trader could cost the bank as much as $2.2 billion. Switzerland’s largest bank warned that it could post a loss for the quarter as a result of the unauthorized trade.

Netflix fell 12 percent, the biggest drop among stocks in the S. P. 500, after the company said it expects fewer people to subscribe to its DVD-by-mail service as well as its streaming movie service.

A show of support by Germany and France for Greece lifted stocks on Wednesday. The Dow has jumped 3 percent over three straight days of gains but is still down 1.9 percent for the month.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss