Log In | Register
— Investors felt more confident putting their money into banks on the eve of a government report card on big financial companies. Bank stocks pulled the market higher Wednesday as media reports trickled out that indicated balance sheets at major lenders might not be as frayed as some had feared. The word came a day ahead of the formal release of results from government "stress tests" aimed at determining which banks need to raise more capital.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 101.63, or 1.2 percent, to 8,512.28.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.73, or 1.7 percent, to 919.53.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.98, or 0.3 percent, to 1,759.10.
For the week:
The Dow is up 299.87, or 3.7 percent.
The S&P is up 42.01, or 4.8 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 39.90, or 2.3 percent.
For the year:
The Dow is down 264.11, or 3 percent.
The S&P is up 16.28, or 1.8 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 182.07, or 11.6 percent.
