Wall Street regains its footing

NEW YORK: Wall Street shares rose Wednesday in a tepid welcome to a compromise US$789 billion stimulus plan for the US economy as the market steadied after disappointment over a government bank rescue plan.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 51.61 points (0.65 per cent) to 7,940.49 at the closing bell, coming off a hefty 381-point slide Tuesday that sent the blue-chip index to a nearly three-month low.

The Nasdaq climbed 5.77 points (0.38 per cent) to 1,530.50 while the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index increased 6.58 points (0.80 per cent) to 833.74.

The market regained its footing after a rout Tuesday when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner failed to offer details on a much-anticipated rescue for the ailing financial sector.

Some analysts said traders may be looking a bit more calmly at the situation after Tuesday’s panic.

During the session, US lawmakers struck agreement on a compromise US$789 billion stimulus plan, and prepared to vote as early as Thursday to send the package to President Barack Obama.

Delegates from the Senate and House of Representatives, picked to resolve differences between the chambers’ rival versions of the economic legislation, were beaming as they announced Obama’s biggest legislative success yet.

“The stimulus package that becomes law won’t be perfect — it will be too small, suggesting that policymakers will have to revisit it — but it will help end the economic slide,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. - AFP