Wall St surges in big market rally

US stocks rallied overnight as investors snapped up beaten-down shares of financial companies after a sharp drop at the end of last week.
The fall had come on mounting concerns about the stability of the US credit markets.
But the worries about the impact of the struggling US housing sector on the global economy still affected Europe's main stock markets fell overnight.
London's FTSE 100 index lost 0.57 per cent to close at 6189.10 points. In Paris the CAC 40 shed 1.16 per cent to 5532.99 while in Frankfurt the Dax lost 0.11 per cent to finish at 7,444.04 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares shed 0.62 per cent to close at 4202.78 points.
In the US the Dow erased Friday's losses, and had its biggest daily percentage advance since June 2003, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index turned in its best one-day performance since April 2003.
Stocks also got a boost from speculation the Federal Reserve may take steps to reassure investors that troubles in the sub-prime mortgage market won't slow economic growth.
Wells Fargo & Co announced the buyback of another 50 million shares, while Merrill Lynch's stock was upgraded by UBS AG, which said the stock's price already reflects risks the company faces in the mortgage market.
Shares of Bear Stearns rose 5 per cent after a Standard & Poor's analyst said the market's response to the ratings agency's recent outlook change to negative was a "vast overreaction".
"People feel like there's some confidence being restored in the debt markets," Stephen Massocca, co-chief executive of San Francisco-based investment bank Pacific Growth Equities, said, noting Wells Fargo's buyback and other financial sector news.