Stocks Jump on Rate-Cut Hope

Stocks shot up at the bell this morning, powered by rallies overseas and speculation that another Fed rate cut is coming down the pike. The Dow rose 239, while the S&P and Nasdaq saw 2.9% and 3.3% jumps respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng in particular saw a dizzying 14.4% jump after a grisly day yesterday, though one market watcher warned that Asia’s “trading mentality” could render gains ephemeral.

The Fed began its deliberations today, and investors are betting it’ll slash 0.5% from its benchmark rate, bringing it to just 1%. Citigroup also announced that its US balanced funds would be moving heavily into stocks this week, which could shoot life into a market short on liquidity. There was bad news, however, from Whirlpool, which trimmed its 2008 guidance and will cut 5,000 jobs. (More stock market stories.)