US STOCKS-Wall St ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism
December 31, 2012 at 16:37 PM EST
NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year, as lawmakers in Washington closed in on a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.
