Credit And Housing Worries
The credit crunch and housing heebie-jeebies weren’t scaring anybody Tuesday. U.S. equities continued a recovery from last week’s credit-housing mini-meltdown, helped higher by tame inflation data and strong earnings from a Detroit auto maker.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7%, or 90.31, to 13,448.62. The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 gained 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
The ascent and with yesterday’s gains show investor confidence returning after last week’s steep drop. On Thursday and Friday, credit and housing worries dragged equities to big losses. Investors fretted that credit problems, which could dry up financing, and a weak housing market, which could shackle consumer activity, were kicking off a bear market.