Wall Street jumped after government help Citi

Stocks climbed on Monday, topping the best two-day run since the end of the 1987 stock market crash, as the government's plan to rescue Citigroup started a huge relief rally.

Citigroup, the second-largest U.S. bank, raised nearly 60 percent to $5.95 and gave its biggest lifts to the Dow as the bailout plan relieved anxious investors' concerns about the financial sector. Last week, Citigroup's stock dropped to its lowest level in about 15 years due to uncertainty over the bank's future.

"The markets love a bailout," said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist at ING Investment in New York. "It seems to have instilled a bit of confidence in the sector itself."

Adding to the positivity, President-elect Barack Obama announced his team of economic advisors which was viewed as being promising for Wall Street.

Obama appointed New York Fed President Timothy Geithner as its Treasury secretary and Lawrence Summers, who previously had the Treasury post, as director of the National Economic Council.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped up 396.97 points, or 4.93 percent, to 8,443.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 51.78 points, or 6.47 percent, to 851.81. The NASDAQ Composite Index raised 87.67 points, or 6.33 percent, to 1,472.02.

RALLY TO REMEMBER

The Dow has moved up 11.8 percent, while the S&P earned 13.2 percent in their best two-day rally since the days following the October 1987 stock market crash.

The government's cash loan for Citi represented the biggest U.S. bank bailout to date, lifting up major financial stocks.

JPMorgan Chase leaped 21.4 percent to $27.58, while Bank of America increased 27.2 percent to $14.59.The S&P financial index climbed 18.8 percent in its best one-day percentage gain ever.

Wall Street slightly pared gains after President-elect Barack Obama named his economic team, but it did not say any specific dollar figures or other new details on a stimulus plan.

Shares of iPod maker Apple Inc advanced nearly 13 percent to $92.95 and gave the biggest boost to the NASDAQ 100. Microsoft shot up 5.1 percent to $20.69