U.S. stocks surged on Tuesday, as battered insurers rose on confidence a probe of the industry would end quickly, helping blue chips snap a 5-day streak of losses. Home builders' shares also rose, with Pulte Homes Inc. up nearly 6 percent a day after saying it expects 2005 profit from continuing operations to surpass analysts' average forecasts. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 138.49 points, or 1.42 percent, at 9,888.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 16.29 points, or 1.49 percent, at 1,111.09. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.75 points, or 0.77 percent, at 1,928.79. It was the Dow's biggest jump since June 7. Marsh & McLennan the world's largest insurance broker, shot up more than 9 percent, or $2.45 to $28.87 after Jeffrey Greenberg resigned as the company's chairman and chief executive and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said he would not press criminal charges against Marsh. --More 0053 Local Time 2153 GMT
