face in bank shares handed the US stock market its best week since November. Fears have eased that the major financial institutions in the United States would collapse or at least require additional government lifelines in order to stay alive. Market veterans were quick to rein in hopes that the market would chart an uninterrupted recovery but many still saw the four straight days of gains a good sign. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 53.92 points, or 0.75 percent, to end unofficially at 7,223.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5.81 points, or 0.77 percent, to 756.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.40 points, or 0.38 percent, to 1,431.50. More than 2 stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1.61 billion shares. The turnaround began Tuesday as the head of Citigroup Inc. said the bank had managed to turn a profit in the first two months of the year. That helped lift the cloud of worry that has cloaked financial stocks since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September. Traders who last week pounded Citi shares to be low $1 began buying the stock again. The gains in the beaten-down industry were enormous: Citi surged 73 percent for the week, Bank of America Corp. jumped 83 percent and Wells Fargo and Co. rose 62 percent. “What's changed is that it's possibly not the end of the world,” said Manny Weintraub, managing director of Integre Advisors in New York. “Banks are borrowing at nothing and they are lending out getting high spreads, so net-interest margins are enormous. You're making more money from zero-interest rates than you are losing.” Officials have repeatedly said getting banks stabilized was crucial to putting the economy on the road to recovery. Stock markets in Europe and Asia also rallied as confidence remained buoyed by positive US economic data, hopes of further stimulus measures from Japan and China and upbeat comments from US bank executives. Japan's Nikkei rose 5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng moved up 4.4 percent as Japan's prime minister is calling for a new stimulus package, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the Chinese government is prepared to take further steps to reinvigorate their economy as well. Britain's FTSE was up 1.1 percent higher by the close, finishing the week 6.3 percent higher, though it is still down over 15 percent this year. The DAX in Germany ended 0.07 percent down on the day but adding 287.19 points in the week. In France, the CAC-40 index closed up 11.38 or 0.42 percent, winning 171.18 points over the week. In India, the Sensex rose 412.86, or 5 percent, to 8,756.61, the biggest gain since Dec. 10. The Nifty Index added 3.9 percent to 2,719.25. The BSE 200 Index advanced 4.3 percent to 1,023.70. S&P Nifty futures for March delivery rose 4.6 percent to 2,720.50. Analysts, however, are still a long way away from declaring that the worst is over. “We are going to remain cautious because the slightest bit of bad news could turn this thing around,” said Joe Arnold, investment adviser at Dawson Wealth Management. Events in the weekend could have a great effect on trading next week. Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 countries are meeting Friday and Saturday outside London, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will discuss the financial crisis in a rare interview to be broadcast on CBS' “60 Minutes” Sunday.
