NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed at multi-year highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 ending at its highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers as investors hailed a new European bond-buying program aimed at stemming the region's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 244.52 points, or 1.87 percent, to 13,292.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 28.68 points, or 2.04 percent, to 1,432.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 66.55 points, or 2.17 percent, to 3,135.81.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by James Dalgleish)