Dow climbs 206 after Fed stimulus

NEW YORK - The stock market staged a huge rally after investors got the aggressive economic help they wanted from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average is finishing up more than 200 points.

The gain pushed the Dow to 13,540, its highest level since December 2007, the start of the Great Recession. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is finishing up 23 points at 1,460. The Nasdaq composite ends the day up 42 at 3,156.

The Fed says it will spend $40 billion a month to purchase mortgage securities because the economy is too weak to reduce high unemployment. It has also extended its pledge of super-low interest rates into 2015.

There were nearly 10 stocks rising for every one falling. Volume was high, 4.5 billion shares.