Wall St. Cheered by Moves to Contain Crisis
International efforts to tackle the financial crisis and a move to give U.S. banks more leeway when valuing their distressed assets sent the stock market soaring yesterday, pushing prices to their highest level in more than a month.</br></br>This extends a rally that began last month as investors embraced signs that the country's economic deterioration could be slowing. The Nasdaq composite index is in positive territory for the year, up 1.6 percent; it has gained 26 percent since it hit its low for the year less than a month ago.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average traded above 8000 yesterday for the first time since February. The average closed up 2.8 percent, or 216.48 points, at 7978.08. It has bounced nearly 22 percent from its low point earlier this year.</br></br>The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 2.9 percent, or 23.30 points, to 834.38, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 3.3 percent, or 51.03 points, to 1602.63.</br></br>Every major sector had gains, including financial and energy stocks, with oil company shares leaping after crude oil prices surged 9 percent, to $52.64 a barrel. Exxon Mobil and Chevron were up 1.5 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, while ConocoPhillips climbed 4.1 percent.