US stocks soared Wednesday for a fourth straight trading session, dpa reported.
Since its November 20 close, the broad-based Standard & Poor's 500 Index has gained 18 per cent as president-elect Barack Obama has announced appointments to financial posts within his administration and endorsed a push for major financial stimulus legislation. He takes office on January 20.
"The market has very bad economic data coming out, but layered onto that is renewed optimism from the Obama nominations that are being rolled out daily," Robert Lutts, president of Cabot Money Management, told the Bloomberg financial news agency. "Eternal hope is being poured into that vessel, that this team is going to rescue us."
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 247.14 points, or 2.91 per cent, to 8,726.61. The S&P 500 jumped 30.29 points, or 3.53 per cent, to 887.68. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index roared higher, closing up 67.37 points, or 4.6 per cent, to 1,532.1.
The US currency leapt to 77.482 euro cents on Wednesday from 76.54 euro cents on Tuesday. The dollar gained against the Japanese currency to 95.678 yen from 95.22 yen on Tuesday.
US financial markets are closed Thursday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.