<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>May 9, 2009
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Shares of Bank of America, the largest US bank, gained 4.9 per cent to US$14.17, while Citigroup climbed 5.5 per cent to US$4.02. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NEW YORK - US stocks rose on Friday, and the Nasdaq capped its longest stretch of weekly gains in a decade as stress test results and reassuring jobs data fuelled hopes the worst is over for banks and the economy.
Financial shares led a broad run-up again, a day after regulators said most US banks were sound. The KBW Bank index surged 12.1 per cent.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>BANKS ANNOUNCE EFFORTS
Several of the large banks have announced equity and debt offerings in an attempt to raise capital.
Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said in an interview on CNBC he anticipates about US$10 billion in asset sales and that he is 'pretty confident' the bank will do better than the stress test results indicate. Regulators told his bank it needed US$33.9 billion of fresh capital.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Shares of No. 2 US bank JPMorgan Chase Inc climbed 10.5 per cent to US$38.94 (S$56.80), making the stock the Dow's top gainer. A 3.4 per cent gain in oil prices above US$58 a barrel bolstered energy companies' shares, led by Chevron Corp, which rose 3.5 per cent to US$70.38.
The release of the stress test results 'has given people a little bit of confidence that the government can help to solve this part of the financial crisis,' said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst and options trader at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.
'There's a sense that the government actually has a logical plan... even if things got worse, these companies will be able to survive. That helps bolster confidence in the administration.'
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 164.80 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 8,574.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 21.84 points, or 2.41 per cent, to 929.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 22.76 points, or 1.33 per cent, to 1,739.00. -- REUTERS
NASDAQ CLIMBS LIKE IT'S 1999
For the week, the Dow rose 4.4 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 5.9 per cent, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.2 per cent.
The Nasdaq registered its ninth straight weekly advance, the longest such streak for the index since an 11-week climb in December 1999. Since hitting a 12-year closing low in March, the S&P has surged 37.4 per cent, but it is still down 40 per cent from its record of October 2007.
Shares of Wells Fargo jumped 13.8 per cent to US$28.18 and shares of Bank of America, the largest US bank, gained 4.9 per cent to US$14.17, while Citigroup climbed 5.5 per cent to US$4.02. US regulators told top banks after the close on Thursday to raise US$74.6 billion to build a capital cushion that officials hope will restore faith in financial companies and set a course out of the deepest recession in decades. -- REUTERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Wall Street surges <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Shares of Bank of America, the largest US bank, gained 4.9 per cent to US$14.17, while Citigroup climbed 5.5 per cent to US$4.02. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->NEW YORK - US stocks rose on Friday, and the Nasdaq capped its longest stretch of weekly gains in a decade as stress test results and reassuring jobs data fuelled hopes the worst is over for banks and the economy.
Financial shares led a broad run-up again, a day after regulators said most US banks were sound. The KBW Bank index surged 12.1 per cent.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>BANKS ANNOUNCE EFFORTS
Several of the large banks have announced equity and debt offerings in an attempt to raise capital.
Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said in an interview on CNBC he anticipates about US$10 billion in asset sales and that he is 'pretty confident' the bank will do better than the stress test results indicate. Regulators told his bank it needed US$33.9 billion of fresh capital.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Shares of No. 2 US bank JPMorgan Chase Inc climbed 10.5 per cent to US$38.94 (S$56.80), making the stock the Dow's top gainer. A 3.4 per cent gain in oil prices above US$58 a barrel bolstered energy companies' shares, led by Chevron Corp, which rose 3.5 per cent to US$70.38.
The release of the stress test results 'has given people a little bit of confidence that the government can help to solve this part of the financial crisis,' said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst and options trader at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.
'There's a sense that the government actually has a logical plan... even if things got worse, these companies will be able to survive. That helps bolster confidence in the administration.'
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 164.80 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 8,574.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 21.84 points, or 2.41 per cent, to 929.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 22.76 points, or 1.33 per cent, to 1,739.00. -- REUTERS
NASDAQ CLIMBS LIKE IT'S 1999
For the week, the Dow rose 4.4 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 5.9 per cent, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.2 per cent.
The Nasdaq registered its ninth straight weekly advance, the longest such streak for the index since an 11-week climb in December 1999. Since hitting a 12-year closing low in March, the S&P has surged 37.4 per cent, but it is still down 40 per cent from its record of October 2007.
Shares of Wells Fargo jumped 13.8 per cent to US$28.18 and shares of Bank of America, the largest US bank, gained 4.9 per cent to US$14.17, while Citigroup climbed 5.5 per cent to US$4.02. US regulators told top banks after the close on Thursday to raise US$74.6 billion to build a capital cushion that officials hope will restore faith in financial companies and set a course out of the deepest recession in decades. -- REUTERS
