Wall Street rebounded strongly on Tuesday with all major indexes gaining more than 5 percent and Dow Jones going back above 6,900 points. Financials led the way up.

In an internal memo sent to employees on Monday evening, Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer of Citigourp, said the bank had an operating profit of US$8.3 billion before taxes and one-time charges through February, which is the bank's best performance since the third quarter of 2007.

Citigroup jumped more than 38 percent and led financials higher, as investors speculated that the worst of the banking crisis is over.

Moreover, Chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank said on Tuesday that he is hopeful the Securities and Exchange Commission would reimpose the "uptick" rule in about a month. The rule is expected to slow the pace of short selling and help calm volatile markets.

Also on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged to review regulatory policies and accounting rules to ensure that they do not induce excessive swings in the financial system, in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Dow Jones rallied 379.44, or 5.8 percent, to 6,926.49. Broader indexes also gained ground. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 43.07, or 6.37 percent, to 719.60; and the Nasdaq surged 89.64, or 7.07 percent, to 1,358.28.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2009)