Market Rallies After Fed Rollercoaster

Stocks were up across the board today after the Fed expressed confidence that “moderate” expansion would continue, countering fears that the subprime fiasco will bleed further into the broader market. The Dow was down more than 100 points immediately after the decision as traders scrambled to decode it, but closed up 35.52, at 13,504.30

The Nasdaq climbed 14.27 to 2561.60; the S&P 500 had its best two-day rally since 2003, closing up 9.04 at 1,476.71, as AIG and Citigroup shares surged. Exxon led oil and gas companies to their biggest gains since mid July. Shares have regained roughly a quarter of the $1.6 trillion lost since subprime tremors began to disturb them last month. A Moody’s analyst even said the credit jitters now looked “manageable.” (More subprime mortgages stories.)