Business Highlights

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Stock market soars in late-day rally

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street sealed the third month of its spring rally with a huge advance. The fourth month looks a little less certain.

Stocks shot higher right before the closing bell Friday after fluctuating on a mix of economic data. Analysts said the surge was the work of short-sellers who had bet that stocks would fall and then had to rush to buy when those bets turned out to be wrong.

A jump in commodities prices, which came on expectations that an improving economy will lift demand for raw materials, also fed the advance.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 96.53, or 1.2 percent, to 8,500.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 12.31, or 1.4 percent, to 919.14, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.54, or 1.3 percent, to 1,774.33.

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Oil, gas prices defy recession; crude hits $66