US stocks rally as GMAC gets financing

New York, Dec 31 (Xinhua) Wall Street staged a big leap Tuesday after the US government announced a $6 billion bailout-package for General Motors' financing arm GMAC.

As per the agreement, the US Treasury will purchase a $5 billion stake in GMAC and lend $1 billion to General Motors. Investors felt further alleviated after the government made additional effort to keep the largest US automaker out of bankruptcy.

The market continuously shrugged off dismal economic data. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence index dropped to 38 in December from a revised 44.7 in November. Wall Street had expected a slight rise in December from 44.9 in November.

The S&P/Case-shiller index showed that home price in 20 US cities fell 18 percent in the 12 months to October, the fastest rate on record.

The crude oil price fell 99 cents to settle at $39.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors continued to worry about the economic conditions.

The Dow Jones rose 184.46 to 8,668.39. Broader indexes also moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 21.22 to 890. 60, while the Nasdaq climbed 40.38 to 1,550.70.