Why the Dow Popped Today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) rose throughout the day to end at its highest level since July. The S&P 500 was also up and crossed the 1,300 mark, which it also hasn't been seen since July.

What caused stocks to climb?

1. We saw above-expectations earnings from Goldman Sachs (NYS: GS) , which eased investor fears over U.S. banks' fourth-quarter earnings. Dow component JPMorgan Chase (NYS: JPM) reported bad earnings earlier this week, which had investors fearing the worst for Goldman and leaving them jittery as Bank of America (NYS: BAC) reports tomorrow. With the positive news, both JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were up today -- 4.7% and 4.94%, respectively.

2. The IMF announced today that it wants to raise billions of dollars, nearly $500 billion, to better counter the European debt crisis.

The best approach
Watching the broad market each day is exciting, gut-wrenching, and stressful. If you're in the mood to pick up a great company to buy for the long term, The Motley Fool has created a brand-new free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." It features a company hand-selected by the Fool's chief investment officer that has a strong future ahead of it. I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Get access to the report and find out the name of this legendary company. The report is free, but won't be forever, so check it out today.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorDan Dzombakowns shares of Bank of America, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out hisholdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.