Second Straight Rally for Wall Street

March 24, 2008— -- NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks closed higher today, with the Dow industrials posting their second straight triple-digit advance and their third in four sessions.

The blue chip index finished with a gain of 187 points at 12,548. Advancing issues on the New York Stock Exchange led losers better than 4-to-1 on volume of about 4.3 billion shares. The Nasdaq composite index was up 68 points at the 2,326 level, with roughly 2.2 billion shares traded. And the S&P 500 added 20 points, closing at 1,349.

The impetus for today's strong showing was the new agreement that will give Bear Stearns shareholders five times the payout that was set in a JPMorgan Chase buyout deal a week ago. JPMorgan is boosting its offer to $10 per share from $2. The news sent Bear Stearns shares up nearly 89 percent.

Investors also were pleased by a stronger-than-expected housing report. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose 2.9 percent in February after declining for six straight months.