alcoa, j.p. morgan clas ahase a bank of america led the dow. november's construction spending surged to the highest in nearly 18 months. also, overseas, germany reported last year's unemployment average was the low nest two decades. and china slowdown may be over as manufacturing grew there in december. gold reversed its year end slide rising over 2% and oil surged over $4 to almost $103 a barrel on iran tensions. coal-related stocks jumped on last friday's court ruling delaying new air pollution regulations. chesapeake energy rose after selling part of the business to french oil giant total for $2.3 billion. devon jumped after china invested $2.2 billion in devon interest.