* Bargain hunting for tech lifts Nasdaq
* GM soars on renewed bailout hopes
* Energy sector buoys Dow, S&P as oil tops $54
* Govt cash infusion overshadows economic data
* Dow up 2.9 pct, S&P up 3.5 pct, Nasdaq up 4.6 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on
STXNEWS/US
(Updates with Dow statistics on scope of four-day rally in
new paragraph 3)
By Charles Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on
Wednesday as investors snapped up tech stocks trading near
their cheapest levels in five years, and renewed hopes of a
General Motors bailout helped investors shrug off data
depicting a worsening global economic downturn.
The Nasdaq rose 4.6 percent, led by Apple and Cisco, which
rebounded from Tuesday's big sell-off on concerns about
weakening demand.
The Dow has risen 15.6 percent in the last four days, the
largest four-day percentage gain since 1932.
Wednesday's surge was fueled by energy stocks after oil
rose more than 7 percent and General Motors <GM.N> shares
soared over 35 percent.
Automakers' shares rose after Deutsche Bank said the
beleaguered companies' prospects for a federal bailout have
improved. For details, see []
The U.S government's recent move to prop up Citigroup
<C.N> may have helped investors overlook more economic data
that continued to show a weakening economy, market
participants said.
"For the last two days, it's been made very clear that the
Fed and Treasury are opening up pocketbooks," said Hugh
Johnson, chief investment officer of Johnson Illington
Advisors in Albany, New York.
"As a result, it has become less likely that a major
financial institution will run into trouble and it's becoming
more likely that the auto sector will receive some
assistance."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> shot up 247.14
points, or 2.91 percent, to 8,726.61. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> gained 30.29 points, or 3.53 percent, to
887.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> jumped 67.37
points, or 4.60 percent, to 1,532.10.
S&P'S BEST STREAK SINCE MAY
The S&P's four-day advance is its best run since May.
U.S. investors did not react, traders said, to news
reports of multiple attacks in India's financial capital
Mumbai, in which at least 80 people were killed.
A 7.2 percent surge in the price of oil futures lifted
energy shares, making Chevron <CVX.N> and Exxon Mobil Corp
<XOM.N> the biggest contributors to the Dow's advance.
Chevron <CVX.N> rose 4.4 percent to $79.93 and Exxon Mobil
climbed nearly 4 percent to $80.89. U.S. front-month crude
<CLc1> gained $3.67 to settle at $54.44 a barrel.
Dreary economic data included government reports that
showed orders for costly manufactured goods such as
refrigerators and washing machines, known as durable goods,
plummeted in October, while consumers cut spending at the
steepest rate in more than seven years.
Citigroup <C.N> jumped nearly 16 percent to $7.05 on the
NYSE after news late on Tuesday that a Mexican brokerage
controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim recently bought $150
million worth of shares in the struggling U.S. bank.
[]
APPLE SHINES BEFORE THANKSGIVING
Shares of Apple Inc <AAPL.O> climbed 4.6 percent to $95,
making the iPod and iPhone maker the Nasdaq's top-weighted
advancer.
Cisco Systems <CSCO.O>, a networking equipment maker, rose
6.3 percent to $16.39 on Nasdaq, a day after news of a
five-day plant closure led a tech sell-off as it sparked
jitters over faltering demand.
Volume was fairly healthy on the New York Stock Exchange,
especially on the day before the Thanksgiving holiday, where
about 1.42 billion shares changed hands, below last year's
estimated daily average of 1.90 billion. On the Nasdaq, about
2.00 billion shares traded, slightly below last year's daily
average of 2.17 billion.
During the holiday-shortened week, volume typically is
lighter than average.
Advancers outnumbered decliners by a ratio of almost 6 to 1
on the NYSE, while on the Nasdaq, about 4 stocks rose for
every one that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
