Stocks Rise as Geithner Becomes Treasury Front-Runner

Friday brought more news from purportedly reliable sources close to Barack Obama, this time suggesting that the president-elect was zeroing in on Timothy Geithner as his pick for treasury secretary and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for commerce secretary.

CNNMoney.com:

Stocks rallied Friday, with the Dow industrials bouncing as much as 550 points, after reports surfaced that President-elect Barack Obama will nominate New York Federal Bank president Timothy Geithner as his new Treasury Secretary.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 494 points, or 6.6%, according to early tallies. It was the fifth-biggest single-session point gain ever, according to Dow Jones.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) index gained 6.3% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 5.2%.

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Geithner’s got it?: News that the New York Fed president could become treasury secretary helped send the Dow rocketing on Friday.