Wow! Dow Climbs 400 Points

The Fed's plan to ease the credit crisis sent stocks roaring today; by the closing bell, the Dow was up by more than 400 points. Financials led the way, reports the Wall Street Journal, with massive gains by Citigroup and American Express. The Dow closed up 416.66 at 12,156.81, the Nasdaq up 86.42 at 2,255.76, and the S&P 500 up 47.28 at 1,320.65.

The Fed's move to act with other central banks to shore up global markets by pumping $200 billion into the financial system will help alleviate the credit crisis but likely won't end it, say analysts. "This perhaps buys us a little more time to get some hard economic data that make people feel better," said a strategist. "Ultimately, that's what's going to end this." (More stock market stories.)