Stocks soar on Geithner report
NEW YORK - Wall Street staged a surprising comeback Friday, with the major indexes jumping more than 5 percent and the Dow Jones industrials surging nearly 500 points in a late afternoon rally, ending another volatile week that saw stocks reach six-year lows.
Stocks erased about half of the losses that came in steep selling Wednesday and Thursday after investors got an unexpected jolt of confidence late Friday following a report that President-elect Barack Obama plans to name New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 494.13, or 6.54 percent, to 8,046.42. That followed a drop in the blue chips of 10.4 percent Wednesday and Thursday. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 47.59, or 6.32 percent, to 800.03, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 68.23, or 5.18 percent, to 1,384.35.
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New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner spoke during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill, July 24, 2008 in Washington, DC.
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