Stocks surge on bank plan, rise in home sales

NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street got the news it wanted on the economy's biggest problems - banks and housing - and responded with a rally that hurtled the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 500 points.

Investors added rocket fuel Monday to a two-week-old advance, cheering the government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books and also welcoming a report showing a surprising increase in home sales. Major stock indicators surged more than 6 percent, including the Dow.

The Treasury Department's bad asset cleanup program would tap money from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund and involve help from the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the participation of private investors.