By Chuck Mikolajczak
Financial stocks outperformed as well on the strength of earnings surprises from Northern Trust
The market shrugged off a brief sell-off after Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner faced tough questioning at his confirmation hearing before a Senate committee.
The day after earnings results from State Street alarmed investors about losses in one of the safest parts of banking, earnings from rival Northern Trust Corp
PNC Financial Services Group Inc
"People are excited because financials are valued so low at this point. It's the mentality that they can't get any lower, but they've proven time and time again that they can," said Jocelynn Drake, market analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 279.01 points, or 3.51 percent, to 8,228.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 35.02 points, or 4.35 percent, to 840.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 66.21 points, or 4.60 percent, to 1,507.07.
International Business Machines Corp
investors to believe the Dow component can weather the global economic downturn.
Hearings on Geithner's appointment attracted the market's attention for much of the day as he is seen as President Barack Obama's point man in battling the economic crisis. As the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York since 2003, Geithner is expected to hit the ground running if confirmed as Treasury secretary.
A day after his historic inauguration, Obama met with his economic advisers, who are working with the Democratic-led Congress on an $825 billion fiscal stimulus package.
The financial sector drove gains in the S&P 500 following Tuesday's sharp sell-off, which was ignited by deepening fears of insolvency among banks.
The broad KBW index of bank stocks <.BKX> and the S&P financials index <.GSPF> both jumped 14.6 percent.
Bank of America
JPMorgan Chase
On the downside, Wal-Mart Stores Inc
Apple
Trading volume was active on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.74 billion shares changing hands, above last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.49 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.12 billion shares traded, below last year's daily average of 2.28 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every one that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)