Wall Street Opens Week Strongly

The markets kicked off Monday morning by extending their Friday rally, as hopes of a "Santa Claus rally" combined with a growing -- and hopeful -- sense that some sort of market bottom may be in sight.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow is up more than 250 points, or nearly 3 percent.

The S&P 500 is up more than 3 percent and the Nasdaq is up 2.5 percent.

We're continuing to focus on a pending auto bailout of some sort. In anticipation of such, shares of GM and Ford are both trading up. (Chrysler is privately held.)

Congressional Democrats capitulated to the White House's long-standing request that any autos bailout come from the $25 billion package in direct loans already approved for automakers, which is meant to help the Big Three retool their factories to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The White House victory on this issue is a surprise -- and significant -- win for a lame-duck presidency with terrible approval ratings.

-- Frank Ahrens
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