He spoke as the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank jointly announced they would work together to provide unlimited short-term funds to make money available to ease the credit freeze.
The Bank of Japan said it was considering a similar move.
To assist the European banks, the Fed said it was taking actions to ensure enough U.S. dollars were available to meet demand.
Analysts said those moves helped markets overseas rise, which led to the surge in U.S. markets.
Local companies bolstered
Among Baltimore-area companies that were bolstered by the broader market gains yesterday was Legg Mason Inc., which rose $4.21, or 22 percent, to $23.33. The increase helped lift the money manager, which suffered the largest one-day percentage drop in its public history last week.
T. Rowe Price gained $4.21, or 10.53 percent, to $44.20.
Local financial institutions also rallied. Provident Bank rose 79 cents, or 9.89 percent, to $8.78. First Mariner Bank gained 49 cents, or 29.52 percent, to $2.15.
The Dow's previous record point increase was March 16, 2000, when it rose 499.19, or 4.93 percent. The 11.08 percentage increase was the fifth highest in history and surpassed the 10.15 percentage increase set Oct. 21, 1987.
The S&P 500 index advanced 104.13 yesterday, or 11.58 percent, to 1,003.35; it was the biggest point gain ever for the S&P 500, eclipsing the 66.33, or 4.76 percent, jump it had on March 16, 2000. It was the biggest percentage gain for the index since March 15, 1933, when it surged 16.6 percent.
The Nasdaq rose 194.74, or 11.81 percent, to 1,844.25, its 10th biggest point gain.
During the dot-com boom, the index soared as much as 324.83 in one day. Its percentage gain yesterday was second to the 14.2 percent logged Jan. 3, 2001, the same day that the Nasdaq set its record for a one-day point gain.
The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this article.
