U.S. Stocks Rally as Obama Picks Tim Geithner to Head Treasury

[cal04]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adW9iCvqNoIY

U.S. stocks rose and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounded from an 11-year low after President- elect Barack Obama picked New York Federal Reserve Bank chief Timothy Geithner to head the Treasury.

“This news could really give the stock market a badly needed shot in the arm,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, wrote in an e-mail to clients. Geithner is a “fantastic choice to help lead the financial markets out of the wilderness.”

Citigroup Inc. pared a 35 percent slide and JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed a 16 percent tumble after a Democratic aide said Obama will nominate Geithner to replace Henry Paulson. National- Oilwell Varco Inc. and Chesapeake Energy jumped more than 12 percent as crude advanced for the first time in six days. The rally in the S&P 500 came after this week’s rout dragged its price-to-earnings valuation to the cheapest since 1995.

The S&P 500, which is poised for a third-straight weekly decline, gained 5 percent to 790.29 at 3:38 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 392.1 points, or 5.2 percent, to 7,944.39, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.6 percent to 1,363.44.

[Burma Jones]

1. People see Barack Obama running the most competant transition ever

They see that whatever the future is going to bring, we WILL have the best people around to face it. I think confidence is creeping back, slowly, and perhaps with fits and starts, but the idea that the we're run by idiots is starting to turn to some well placed confidence....

Either that, or OPEC and Russia want $100+ a barrel oil back again......

[ozone_man]

3. That confidence will evaporate pretty quickly.

It was just a snap back rally, like we've had over the past few months when things are short term oversold. We're in a secular bear market that has a long way to go, and not that dependent on Obama.

[Dr.Phool]

2. He could have appointed Alfred E. Neuman and the market would have rallied.

They were looking for any excuse to find a rally today.

On Monday, from rally to reality.