Stocks rally as oil falls sharply

By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped and European equities rebounded on Wednesday after oil prices slid on news of an unexpected leap in U.S. crude supplies last week and a big U.S. bank posted unexpectedly strong results, easing investor fears about the bank sector. Spot gold prices tumbled about 2 percent as oil slid and the dollar extended gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said currency intervention may be warranted under certain conditions. Prices of U.S. government debt fell, after data showed U.S. consumer price inflation accelerated in June. U.S. crude oil futures fell more than 4 percent after a U.S. government agency reported a surprise uptick in import levels, causing crude prices to tumble for the second day. Prices for a barrel of oil are down almost $15 over the past two days,... [read full story]