Business

U.S. stocks soar on rescue plan

NEW YORK: Wall Street on Friday extended a huge rally as investors stormed back into the market, relieved that the government plans to rescue banks from billions of dollars in bad debt. The Dow Jones industrials rose nearly 360 points, giving them a massive gain of more than 770 points over two days, and Treasurys fell as money flowed into equities.

A new ban on short selling, or placing bets that a stock will fall, was likely adding to the market’s gains. And Friday was a quarterly “quadruple witching” day, which marks the simultaneous expiration of options contracts, an event that often adds to volatility.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, speaking about the rescue plan, said a bold approach was needed to remove troubled assets from the books of financial firms. He gave few details, but said he would work on it through the weekend with congressional leaders.— AP

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