As countries around the world pledged nearly $2 trillion to stem the global credit crisis, the markets jetted into the stratosphere with the Dow Jones Industrial Average setting a record for a one day point gain by rocketing 936 points to 9388. Nasdaq leaped 195 points to 1844.
On the upside
Reliant Energy (Nasdaq: RRI) and First Reserve entered a definitive agreement with First Reserve receiving $350 million in convertible preferred Reliant stock.Activision Publishing (Nasdaq: ATVI) launched the beta version of the multiplayer Call of Duty: World at War for Microsoft's (NYSE: MSFT) Xbox 360.
Shares of Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) surged after the Department of Justice ended its investigation into possible antitrust violations related to graphics processing units and cards.
On the downside
Shares of American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE: AXL) plummeted after General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced the closing of an SUV factory in Wisconsin.
General Electric (NYSE: GE) disappointed with lower third quarter earnings due to weakness at its financing arm GE Capital.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE: GPI) blamed hurricanes and the credit crisis for warning that third quarter income will fall short of expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 15 to 1 on the NYSE and by 6 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks surged 48 points to 571.
