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Dow Up 299 on Stimulus, Autos

Industries likely to benefit from Obama building plan see gains

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 8, 2008 3:17 PM CST

(Newser) – Stocks rallied today, led by automakers, which look ever likelier to get a federal bailout, and industrial firms expected to benefit from President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed public-works programs, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 298.76 to close at 8,934.18. The Nasdaq rose 62.43, closing at 1,571.74, while the S&P 500 climbed 33.63 to settle at 909.70.

General Motors gained 17.99%, and Ford gained 22.4% on news of the sunnier prospects for Detroit. Commodities also traded higher, with the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index up 3.46%. Even oil futures gained, up $2.90 to $43.91 a barrel. “OPEC is trying its best to keep oil from breaking $40,” one broker told the Wall Street Journal, adding that it’s “still below where they would rather have it priced.”

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange today. (AP Photo)

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange today. (AP Photo)

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It looks like a bailout for the automakers is in the works. And over the weekend, Obama laid out a government-funded work program that would be the largest since the 1950s, which is stirring the bulls.
- Marc Pado, Cantor Fitzgerald

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Dow Up 299 on Stimulus, Autos