Stocks are sharply higher after the government said the economy grew at a stronger than expected pace during the third quarter

Investors have spent the past couple of months hunting for clues of just how much the economy has recovered. Thursday’s gross domestic product reading gave them the surest sign yet that the economy is on the upswing.

The Commerce Department said the economy grew at an annual pace of 3.5 percent in the third quarter, faster than the 3.3 percent increase predicted by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

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