Monday March 23, 09:27 PM
US stocks skyrocket on toxic asset plan
NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street shares skyrocketed Monday as the market cheered a plan to clean up toxic assets clogging the balance sheets of US banks in a bid to stabilize the recession-hit economy.
Extending a two-week rally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average catapulted 497.48 points (6.84 percent) to end at 7,775.86 -- the blue chip index's fifth largest percent gain ever as it reached its highest level since February 13.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq (NASDAQ: news) leapt 98.50 points (6.76 percent) to 1,555.77 while the broad Standard & Poor's 500 powered higher by 54.38 points (7.08 percent) to 822.92.
The market soared after President Barack Obama's administration announced a public-private sector program to help the ailing banking system recover from massive losses suffered in the US real estate meltdown.
The cornerstone of the plan unveiled by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was a "Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets" funded with 75 to 100 billion dollars from the government -- an idea that has generated some praise but also skepticism.
Officials said this approach would "generate 500 billion dollars in purchasing power" and could expand to one trillion dollars.
"One ray of light to the resolution of the financial crisis is better than no ray at all, and markets gave this next phase of the program a relatively enthusiastic endorsement," said IHS Global Insight chief US economist Brian Bethune.
The day's early stock rally gathered momentum after the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 5.1 percent in February, defying analysts' expectations for a monthly decline.
Against this bullish backdrop, the Dow surged to a 300-point gain by midday, said Elizabeth Harrow of Schaeffer's Investment Research.
Geithner's remarks about the bank toxic asset purchase plan was warmly welcomed by the market even though just a week ago he was slammed, with some calling for his head to roll, over a bonus payment fiasco at insurance giant AIG, which was saved from collapse by taxpayer money.
"Investors might have been calling for his resignation last week amid the AIG bonus scandal, but Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reemerged today as the unlikely savior of the equities market," Harrow said.
Last month, the Dow index dived 4.62 percent after the market gave a thumbs down to Giethner's broad outline of a plan to restore financial stability.
Handsome (020000.KS - news) gains Monday were led by banking stocks, including Bank of America (NYSE: IKJ - news) which shot up 26.01 percent to 7.80 dollars, Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) by 19.47 percent to 3.13 dollars, JPMorgan Chase by 24.67 percent to 28.86 dollars and Wells Fargo by 23.87 percent to 17.33 dollars.
Conglomerate General Electric also jumped 9.33 percent to 10.43 dollars even after Moody's Investors Service downgraded Monday its the key debt rating.
Industrial and energy stocks also enjoyed a good run. Aluminium producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA - news) was up 13.15 percent to 7.40 dollars while aircraft manufacturer Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) rose 9.06 percent to 35.50 dollars and equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - news) leapt 9.46 percent to 29.63 dollars.
Time Warner (NYSE: TWX - news) rose 9.67 percent to 8.62 dollars after the media-entertainment giant said it would invest some 241 millions dollars in Central European Media Enterprises (CME) to expand its global footprint.
Bonds were down. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 2.660 percent from 2.625 percent Friday and that on the 30-year bond increased to 3.693 percent from 3.654 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Global stock markets rallied as well as word leaked out on the US plan.
The FTSE 100 index in London closed up 2.86 percent, the Paris CAC 40 rose 2.81 percent and the Frankfurt Dax gained 2.70 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei (news) -225 index leapt 3.39 percent, nearing a two-month peak, and Hong Kong stocks raced 4.78 percent higher.
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