U.S. Stocks Gain After GE Says Rating Cut Won’t Hurt Business

Nice rally the last few days. I would not get too excited, it has the look of a classic bear market, oversold, short covering rally. Better than hitting new lows though, let's see how we do tomorrow.-Lou

U.S. Stocks Gain After GE Says Rating Cut Won’t Hurt Business

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced for a third day as General Electric Co. said the loss of its top credit rating at Standard & Poor’s won’t hurt business and Bank of America Corp. said it was profitable in January and February.

GE added 14 percent after losing the AAA ranking that it held since 1956, while Bank of America Corp. surged 16 percent. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rose 3.2 percent after the government said retail sales beat estimates, indicating the biggest part of the economy is stabilizing. General Motors Corp. jumped 12 percent after saying it won’t need U.S. aid this month. Pfizer Inc. rallied 8.4 percent following success in a drug trial.

The S&P 500 Index increased 3.6 percent to 747.15 at 2:49 p.m. in New York, giving it the biggest three-day rally since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 218.15 points, or 3.2 percent, to 7,148.55. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies advanced 6.1 percent to 388.65.

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