Stocks jump on bank plan, rise in home sales

By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer Tim Paradis, Ap Business Writer 3/23/09

NEW YORK - Wall Street is getting the good news it wants on the economy's biggest problems: banks and housing.

Investors have reignited a two-week rally Monday after hearing the government's plan to help banks remove as much as $1 trillion in bad assets from their books. Home sales also showed a surprise increase.

The Treasury Department says its plan will rely on a mix of government and private money. The rise in home sales comes as prices fall. Traders are eager for any sign that a glut of available homes is easing.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 281 points at 7,559. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 30 at 799, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 53 at 1,510.

Posted by Paul Chavez @ 11:45 AM on 03/23/2009
Tags: home values New Mexico real estate