Stocks rise on fresh signs of job growth

Stocks started December with a jump. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 249 points Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain since Sept. 1 and the sixth-largest this year.

An encouraging employment report and hopes that Europe's debt crisis may ease boosted major indexes on Wednesday, erasing nearly two weeks of losses. Bond prices and the dollar fell as investors moved money into riskier assets.

Signs that the U.S. job market thawed in November jump-started the gains.

The Dow is still 1.7 percent below its Nov. 5 close.

The index is up 7.9 percent so far this year. ADP Employer Services, a payroll company, said small businesses added the largest amount of workers in three years last month.