U.S. stocks rebounds on reported Treasury nomination

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged on Friday to cap another volatile week as investors greeted with relief reports that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his point person to combat the U.S. economic crisis, lifting a major uncertainty from markets.

Stocks limped into the day after a back-to-back pummelling that had left the S&P 500 at an 11-year low, and spent most of the day drifting in and out of positive territory. They shot higher around 3 p.m. when NBC news reported that Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, would be nominated as U.S. Treasury secretary.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI jumped 494.37 points, or 6.55 percent, at 8,046.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX shot up 47.57 points, or 6.32 percent, at 800.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 68.23 points, or 5.18 percent, at 1,384.35.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Leslie Adler)