Investors encouraged by a good batch of earnings reports and forecasts jumped back into stocks Thursday after a two-day slide. Stocks posted big gains as investors snapped up financial shares after several banks said they weren't seeing as many loans go bad. The market extended its gains in afternoon trading when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it expects sales to grow this year and increase at a faster pace next year. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 131.95, or 1.3 percent, to 10,081.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.51, or 1.1 percent, to 1,092.91. The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.56, or 0.7 percent, to 2,165.29. For the week: The Dow is up 85.40, or 0.9 percent. The S&P is up 5.23, or 0.5 percent. The Nasdaq is up 8.49, or 0.4 percent. For the year: The Dow is up 1,304.92, or 14.9 percent. The S&P is up 189.66, or 21 percent. The Nasdaq is up 588.26, or 37.3 percent. |