国际英语新闻：U.S. stocks surge on housing data, banks

NEW YORK, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street staged a strong rally on Monday with all major indexes gaining around three percent on upbeat news from housing industry and banks.

    The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index rose two points to 16 in May. Despite being near historically low levels, the latest index reading is the highest since last September when the financial turmoil started.

    Financials led the way up. Bank of America climbed after Goldman Sachs put the bank on its "conviction buy" list. Meanwhile, the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for three-month loans fell four basis points to 79 basis points Monday.

    Oil prices jumped 2.69 U.S. dollars to settle at 59.03 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which sent energy shares soaring.

    In the earnings, Lowe's Cos., the second largest U.S. home improvement retailer, posted a 22 percent drop in its first-quarter earnings but results still topped Wall Street's forecasts.Shares of Lowe's rose more than eight percent to 19.94 dollars. Its upbeat earnings also lift rival Home Depot Inc.

    The Dow Jones rose 235.44, or 2.9 percent, to 8,504.08. Broader indexes also jumped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rallied 26.83,or 3 percent, to 909.71; and the Nasdaq gained 52.22, or 3.1 percent, to 1,732.36