The reported wipeout of Saddam’s two fugitive sons boosted the value of stocks as much as $30 billion – and greased the wheels for another quick rally.
Oil prices also plunged 5 percent on the news that Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed in their hideout by U.S. troops – a symbolic setback for any attempted guerrilla disruptions at oilfields.
The greenback jumped on the reports, with foreign investors buying more dollars on hopes that the post-Iraqi war mess might be easing.
The Dow Jones industrial average, after suffering a losing session all morning, soared sharply by 121 points in less than a hour following news of the successful firefight.
The Dow ended 61.76 higher, or 0.68 percent, to 9,158.45. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 9.31, or 0.95 percent, to 988.11. The Nasdaq jumped 24.69, or 1.47 percent, to 1,706.10.
Some investors are buoyed by general optimism about Iraq as well as a spate of stronger earnings.
Texas Instruments soared almost 8 percent, or $1.37, to $19.25 after posting earnings and sales that turned out better than originally thought.
But the upbeat mood could be tempered today in advance of a report saying that layoffs appear to be widening instead of leveling off.
New jobless numbers, due tomorrow, are expected to show 415,000 new claims this past week, up from 412,000 claims the prior week, according to a poll of economists by Bloomberg.
Crude oil fell here to $30.19 per barrel, off $1.59.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary John Snow has predicted the U.S. economy will grow 4 percent next year, and that interest rates may rise.
He thinks growth will hit about 3.5 percent in the second half this year.
Snow and other White House officials will start a road show this summer to tout President Bush’s economic recovery plan. Rank-and-file Republicans say they’re worried about Bush’s re-election chances due to the feeble economy and the rising death toll in Iraq, according to an Associated Press poll of GOP leaders.
Other recent polls show that just over half of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy.