Stocks Jump on Revised Bear Stearns Deal

Stocks rose after JPMorgan confirmed a New York Times report that the company will boost its offer to $10 per share from $2. The revised plan is aimed at soothing Bear Stearns shareholders upset over JPMorgan's earlier offer, which was made at the behest of the Federal Reserve when Bear Stearns was near collapse.

Bear Stearns shares jumped $5.49, or 92 percent, to $11.45, while JPMorgan rose $1.73, or 3.8 percent, to $47.70.

Beyond the troubles of the financials, Wall Street was examining the housing sector the root of much of investors' current angst. A real estate trade group said sales of existing homes rose rather than declined in February, as had been expected.

In midmorning trading, the Dow rose 233.16, or 1.89 percent, to 12,594.18 after rising more than 260 points on Thursday, the last day of trading before the Easter holiday weekend.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 23.91, or 1.80 percent, to 1,353.42, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 58.50, or 2.59 percent, to 2,316.61.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 19.70, or 2.89 percent, to 701.12.

Monday's gains follow a volatile but ultimately strong week for the markets. The Dow and the S&P each showed gains of more than 3 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq advanced more than 2 percent.

Bond prices fell sharply. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.48 percent from 3.34 percent late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude rose 14 cents to $101.98 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.