Stocks surge as Fed pledges broad economic support

A surprised Wall Street is finishing with enormous gains following the Federal Reserve's decision to slash interest rates to historic lows and pledge broad support to reinflate the troubled economy.

The Dow Jones industrials are up 360, or 4.2 percent, at the 8,924 level Tuesday. Broader indexes have surged more than 5 percent.

The Fed's decision to slash its key interest rate to a range rather than a fixed point has caught investors off-guard. But investors are more focused on the central bank's statement that it would use "all available tools" to jump-start the economy.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)