Stocks rise as financial, consumer stocks gainStocks rebound as upbeat earnings reports push investors into financial, consumer stocks

Phoenix International Ltd and Southern Online Bio Technologies Ltd hit another consecutive buyer freeze.

BUY ON DECLINES SHOULD BE THE STRATEGY APPLIED, as November--December effect is round the corner. This is the time when the small and mid-cap counters give maximum return--hence please focus on this space.

Some of the stocks which could be potential multibaggers are: Sanguine Media Services Ltd, Accentia Technologies Ltd, Energy Development Company Ltd, Refex Refrigerants Ltd, Country Club Ltd, SEL Manufacturing Company Ltd, Pyramid Saimira Theatres Ltd, Glory Polyfilms Ltd, etc.

NEW YORK -- Investors encouraged by a good batch of earnings reports and forecasts jumped back into stocks after a two-day slide.

Stocks posted big gains Thursday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it expects sales to grow this year and increase at a faster pace next year. At the same time, easing worries about loan losses at some banks made financial stocks look attractive.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 132 points and logged the biggest gains of major indexes after Wal-Mart's forecast and as a number of companies that make up the indicator reported earnings that surpassed expectations.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index lagged after a disappointing forecast from online retailer eBay Inc. but still ended higher.

The market's climb comes a day after a late slide pushed major indexes lower. Lingering concerns over whether investors had been too optimistic about an economic rebound fed into the drop.

Consumer stocks rose after Wal-Mart said it expects sales to increase 1 to 2 percent for the current fiscal year and 4 to 6 percent for next year. The nation's largest retailer also said it would focus on emerging markets when opening stores. Meanwhile, clothing retailer J. Crew Group Inc. raised its earnings forecast because of stronger sales and profit margins.

Investors were also encouraged by earnings reports from the banks PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp, which each said the number of bad loans aren't mounting as fast as they had been. That helped to push financial stocks higher.

Dow components 3M Co., Travelers Cos., AT&T Inc. and McDonald's Corp. posted stronger results than analysts had forecast.

Adam Gould, senior portfolio manager at Direxion Funds in New York, said the market's bounce on the Wal-Mart forecast illustrates how difficult it is to keep stocks down and allow those who missed the seven-month run to get stocks at lower prices.

"People have wanted to see some type of correction but whenever any earnings come out and beat and whenever any economic news comes out that is decent, the market rallies," he said.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 131.95, or 1.3 percent, to 10,081.31.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.51, or 1.1 percent, to 1,092.91. The Nasdaq rose 14.56, or 0.7 percent, to 2,165.29.

Two stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.3 billion shares compared with 1.4 billion Wednesday.