2nd Lead: Dow Jones average tops 10,000 for first time in 12 months

Wall Street surged Wednesday and the Dow Jones industrial average topped the 10,000 benchmark for the first time since October 2008, as investors were boosted by surprisingly strong earnings reports from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase, the first major bank to report third-quarter earnings and the second- largest U.S. bank by assets, said profit in the third quarter soared to 3.59 billion U.S. dollars, almost sevenfold and beating analysts' estimates, as fixed- income revenue surged. However, the bank said loan losses are still high and are likely to remain elevated for some time.

Intel, the world's largest computer-chip maker, reported a smaller-than-expected decline in profit and sales after Tuesday's closing bell, also topping analysts' estimates. And The company forecast sales that surpassed projections by as much as 1 billion dollars. The reports added to evidence that the global economy is recovering from the severe recession.

On economic news, retail sales declined in September by the largest amount this year as car sales plummeted following the end of the government's popular Cash for Clunkers program. But outside of autos, sales were better than expected.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales dropped 1.5 percent last month. That's smaller than the 2.1 percent fall economists had expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 134.45 points, or 1.36 percent, to 10,005.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 17. 35 points, or 1.62 percent, to 1,090.52. The Nasdaq composite index put on 27.97 points, or 1.31 percent, to 2,165.01.

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