| US Stock Prices Soar, Gaining Back Half of Monday's Huge Loss |
By Barry Wood
Washington
30 September 2008
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Financial markets continued to see-saw world-wide Tuesday, but U.S. markets soared on expectations that Congress will later this week approve the financial rescue legislation that failed in the House of Representatives on Monday. VOA's Barry Wood has more.
 | | Traders at the New York Stock Exchange, 30 Sep 2008 |
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 485 points or 4.7 percent to close at 10,850. The advance was the biggest daily gain in six years, recovering more than half of Monday's huge nearly nine percent plunge.
The advance was fueled by statements from both presidential candidates saying they favored the administration's $700 billion line of credit that would allow the government to buy up the bad loans of the banking industry. President Bush also expressed optimism saying that Monday's defeat was not the end of the legislative process.
On Wall Street, trader Teddy Weisberg of Seaport Securities said the financial rescue is in the interests of all Americans.
"Because what happens in the financial system basically drives our economy at every level," he said. "And if the financial system freezes up and breaks down it will have ripple effects not only throughout our economy but the world's economies."
Weisberg spoke on Marketwatch.com. Overall, the U.S. stock market had its worst September since 2002 with the Standard and Poors Index registering a nine percent decline.
In Europe stock prices fell and currencies tumbled on news that banking authorities were extending lifelines to several financial institutions. The euro, the common currency of 15 European Union nations, had its biggest daily decline against the dollar since 2001. The euro fell 2.4 percent to $1.41. The British pound was again down sharply, declining to $1.77.75. The pound was trading at $2 just three months ago. Gold lost $13 to under $881 an ounce.
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