Wall Street got the news it wanted on the economy's biggest problems — banks and housing — and celebrated by hurtling 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. It was the biggest percentage increase for the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index since Oct. 28.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 497.48, or 6.8 percent, to 7,775.86.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 54.38, or 7.1 percent, to 822.92.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 98.50, or 6.8 percent, to 1,555.77.

For the year:

The Dow is down 1,000.53, or 11.4 percent.

The S&P is down 80.33, or 8.9 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 21.26, or 1.4 percent.