Stocks rallied yesterday as the US-led military offensive in Afghanistan continued to reduce Osama bin Laden's room to manoeuvre, while back on Wall Street select companies reported encouraging earnings. In a continuation of last week's rally, major indices closed at or near the highs of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 109.47 points, or 1.11 per cent, to end at 9,976.46.
"There's a sigh of relief - it sounds like we're getting close to winding up the mess in Afghanistan," said Donna van Vlack, head trader at Brandywine Asset Management, which oversees $7 billion. "That, and the price of oil is breaking down, which is stimulative for the economy." In the aftermath of the attacks, the US stocks scraped out three-year lows on September 21st. Since then, the market has roared back. The Dow is up 21 per cent - making it worthy of being called a bull market, the Nasdaq has jumped 36 per cent and the S&P 500 has climbed 19.2 per cent.
Among stocks, Lowe's climbed $2.75, or 6.8 per cent, to $43.10. The number two home-improvement retailer after rival Home Depot said earnings jumped 24 per cent.
