Dow Extends Rally, Rises 247

The markets extended a winning streak into a fourth session today, despite mostly dismal economic data, the Wall Street Journal reports. Consumer spending and orders for durable goods fell over the last month, but the Dow closed up 247.14 points at 8,727. The Nasdaq rose 67.4 points to close at 1,532, and the S&P 500 gained 30.28 points, settling at 888.

Some analysts also hold that the markets were inspired by Barack Obama’s appointment of Paul Volcker to a new White House advisory post. Citigroup saw a 17.1% gain on continued hopes that a new government lifeline will revive the banking giant, and GM gained 31.1% after a Deutsche Bank analyst said that a federal bailout was becoming more probable. Tech stalwarts also gained, with Intel and HP both up at least 4%.
(More Dow Jones stories.)