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For a day, at least, Wall Street got its groove back. The stock market staged its biggest rally since May on Wednesday, driving the Dow Jones industrial average above 10,000, as investors rushed to buy blue-chip shares near their lowest levels this year. The hope was that coming quarterly earnings reports would show major corporations were weathering these hard economic times better than many had expected. Many ifs remain. A disappointing showing by any number of companies could easily send the market tumbling anew. So could worrisome developments in Europe, where authorities are in the midst of assessing the financial strength of major banks. But on Wednesday, the old worries were cast aside. The broad stock market jumped 3.13 percent as investors concluded the recent sell-off was overdone and that the economy might be stronger than many had believed. To some, stocks simply seemed too cheap to resist. Investors who for weeks had sought shelter in the relative safety of United States Treasury securities reversed their trades and headed back into stocks. Adding to the buoyant mood was news suggesting that retail sales were growing briskly this year, a sign that recession-weary consumers were spending again. Sales probably grew at an average annual rate of 4 percent during the first five months of retailers’ current fiscal year, the sharpest gain since 2006, the International Council of Shopping Centers said. And so a few hard numbers — and a lot of hope — sent the market soaring. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, which only two days ago had sunk to a 10-month low, rose 32.31 points, or 3.13 percent, to 1,060.27. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 274.66 points to 10,018.28, its first close above 10,000 since June 28. The Nasdaq composite index rose 65.59 points to 2,159.47. Financial shares paced the gains after the State Street Corporation, the big custody bank, posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter profits. The results — 93 cents a share, excluding one-time items — raised hopes that other big banks would report similarly robust results over the next two weeks. Shares of State Street rose 9.9 percent. JPMorgan Chase, which reports second-quarter results next week, increased 5 percent. American Express and Bank of America each rose more than 4 percent. Small and midsize regional banks posted even bigger gains. Retailers also gained on the news from the International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group. Thirty of the 31 stocks in the S.& P. retail industry index advanced. But beyond the outlook for a particular company or industry was a sense that investors 传奇私服 were regaining their nerve after a dismal first half for the stock market. Treasury securities, which had soared in recent weeks, driving the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries below 3 percent, abruptly reversed course and tumbled. The 10-year Treasury fell 14/32 to 104 13/32. Its yield rose to 2.98 percent from 2.93 percent. The euro rallied to a six-week high against the dollar. “It looks like the ‘re-risking’ trade is coming back on,” said Matthew S. Rothman, global head of quantitative equities strategy at Barclays Capital. Analysts said the prospect of authorities in Europe releasing details this week of so-called stress tests of some of the Continent’s banks also fueled the day’s optimism. Even if the tests identified problems within some of Europe’s banks, at least they would end the uncertainty about the state of the financial system that had been weighing on world markets, analysts said. “The market is just happy the tests are coming out,” said Win Thin, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. “There has always been this suspicion about whether they are hiding something or not.” After the broad stock market lost about 7 percent during the first six months of the year, various market indicators started to suggest that the market had fallen too far, too fast. For instance, the so-called relative strength index for the S.& P. 500, which measures the index’s advances and declines, registered just above 30 on Monday. A reading of 20 to 30 is generally considered a sign that the market is oversold. In a research note, UBS analysts said: “Stock investors were probably looking for a decent excuse to re-enter the market in a new quarter at more attractive levels.” Mr. Rothman of Barclays Capital said that sentiment had “really just changed on a dime for reasons that are difficult to figure out.” But he said that it was investors’ evolving view about the health of the United States and European economies, rather than news on specific companies or industries, that was driving the market’s moves. “It’s about the question, are we in an early cyclical recovery, or going back to depression?” he said.