Stock Markets Rebound

A strange absence of bad news on Wall Street today pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 178.73 points, or 2.5 percent, to close at 7,395.70. The S&P 500 erased more than half its loss since Obama took office, gaining 3.2 percent, and the Nasdaq surged 4.1 percent. An unexpected rebound in homebuilding started the day off right, and speculation that the Fed will details plans to strengthen the economy helped JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup climb at least 7.7 percent. “The market was depressed to an extreme level because of the constant stream of bad news and events,” said a money manager at Westwood Management Corp. in Dallas. “The mere fact that the negative news has stopped allows the market to come back up to a reasonable level.”