Morning MoneyBeat Asia; Dow Pips Higher, Added 420 Points Amid 'Dove' Rally

        By Paul Vigna
        Market Snap: At the New York close: S&P 500 up 2.4% at 2061.23. DJIA up 2.4% at 17778.15. Nasdaq Comp up 2.2% at 4748.40. Treasury yields rose; 10-year at 2.204%. Nymex crude oil down 4.2% at $54.11. Gold up 0.03% at $1,194.70/ounce.
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        How We Got Here: U.S. stocks ripped higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging nearly 100 points ahead of the closing bell, as the market continued its torrid rally in the wake of the Fed's December meeting and the dovish message.
        The S&P 500 has gained 4.5% in two days - adding 2.04% on Wednesday and 2.39% on Thursday. "This has not occurred since Aug. 8, 2002," Howard Silverblatt, the senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, wrote. That puts the index just 0.6% off its all-time high.
        The Dow stood at 17227 on Wednesday at 1:59 p.m., right before the Fed statement was released. From then through the closing bell on Thursday, it added 551 points. In all, the index gained about 700 points in two days.
        It wasn't all bright and cheery in the capital markets. Crude oil resumed its slide, with WTI off more than 4% on Thursday, striking a fresh five-year low. It will be interesting to see if equities maintain their momentum, or get dragged back into the muck with oil.
        Coming Up: The Bank of Japan will deliver a monetary-policy decision on Friday. There's not much more the BOJ can do right now to boost the economy. And with the energy-importing country considered one of the biggest beneficiaries of the fall in oil prices, the BOJ is now receiving some supplemental stimulus help.
        What You Missed Overnight
        U.S. Stocks Jump on Fed Reassurance The Dow Industrials vaulted to their biggest two-day gain in more than three years Thursday, bolstered for a second session by reassurances from the Federal Reserve that it remains in no rush to raise interest rates.
        Oil Prices Resume Slide Oil prices resumed their monthslong slide Thursday amid bearish comments from Russia and OPEC leaders and reports that a Nigerian dockworker strike was lifted, raising the possibility of more crude in a global market already brimming with supplies.
        Several Top ISIS Leaders Killed in Iraq, U.S. Says U.S. airstrikes have killed several very senior military leaders of Islamic State forces in Iraq, the Pentagon's top uniformed officer disclosed Thursday.
        U.S. Weighs Options to Respond to Sony Hack The U.S. is weighing a "range of options" to respond to the hack of Sony Pictures, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday, but declined to say who the government believes is behind what it regards as "a very serious attack."
        From The Wall Street Journal
        Sony Pictures Runs Show With Little Direction From Tokyo Sony Pictures Entertainment's three-week struggle with hackers upset about its North Korea movie "The Interview" has highlighted the unit's independence from its Tokyo parent, Sony, which has mostly taken a hands-off approach to the problem.
        Jack Ma, Wang Jianlin in Battle to Top China's Rich List Internet mogul Jack Ma and property tycoon Wang Jianlin are wrestling for the top spot on China's billionaire list this year, as e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops are at daggers drawn over the future of Chinese consumption.
        Pakistan Asks for Afghan Help to Fight Taliban Pakistan's military and intelligence chiefs rushed to Kabul to ask the Afghan government and U.S.-led military coalition for help in crushing the masterminds of the Taliban attack on a school that killed 132 children.
        China's Short-Term Borrowing Costs Surge as Demand for Money Grows Short-term borrowing costs in China soared Thursday as demand for cash surged due to a number of new stock offerings and the year-end shopping spree.
        From MoneyBeat
        Ten Market Disruptors for 2015 S&P Capital IQ came up with its list of ten market disruptors for 2015, one for each sector.
        Yellen Has Something for Everyone as Stocks, Dollar Both Rally If the hallmark of a great central banker is the ability to please everyone, then Janet Yellen is on her game.
        Putin's News Conference - At a Glance As Russia faces financial troubles and pressure from the West over its intervention in Ukraine, here are the big issues President Vladimir Putin spoke about at his annual news conference Thursday.
        Morgan Stanley Analysts Try GoPro, Discover Their Lives Are Boring Morgan Stanley analysts James Faucette, Yuuji Anderson and the appropriately named Meta Marshall decided to document their research on GoPro's stock with a GoPro camera.
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        December 18, 2014 18:42 ET (23:42 GMT)

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