Wall Street set aside worries about bad economic news Tuesday, rallying even as consumer confidence plunged to its lowest levels in 41 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose almost 900 points, leading the major indexes with a gain of more than 10 percent.
The market did fluctuate after the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence has fallen to 38 in October, well below the 51 analysts expected."chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago. "Consumer confidence is a pretty good predictor of retail sales.
But investors were combing the market for beaten-down stocks after the Dow fell more than 500 over two sessions. They were also trying to position themselves ahead of the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates, which is expected Wednesday.
By close, the Dow rose 889.35 or 10.88 percent, to 9,065.12 in volatile trading.
The big moves weren't a surprise, given the huge swings stocks have shown in the past six weeks since the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Only two of the 19 trading days in October haven't ended with the Dow up or down by triple digits.
Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 91.56, or 10.79 percent, to 940.48, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 143.57, or 9.53 percent, to 1649.47.
