Stocks Climb Nearly 200 Points

Stocks rallied this afternoon on news that lawmakers had reached a consensus on the Wall Street bailout plan, MarketWatch reports. Optimism proved infectious as GE rose 6.26% despite cutting an earnings estimate earlier today. The Dow climbed 196.89 points to 11,022.06. The Nasdaq gained 30.89 points, settling at 2,186.57, while the S&P 500 rose 23.31 points to close at 1,209.18.

August orders of durable goods fell 4.5% in August, and sales of new homes dropped 11.5%, but poor economic data seemed to have little impact on the Street. Many financials gained, including Lehman Brothers, which was up 44.4%, as well as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which rose 3.7% and 12.05%, respectively. But WaMu plummeted 21.68% on reports that it was seeking a private-equity takeover. (More Dow Jones stories.)