M. Continuo

Wall Street rises on G20 optimism



    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose at the open on Thursday on optimism the leaders at the G20 meeting underway in London will agree on ways to temper the economic crisis. Highlights:

    * FASB says new mark-to-market effective in Q2

    * KBW banks index rises 4.7 percent

    * Jobless claims were higher than expected

    * The Dow Jones industrial average gained 165.43 points, or 2.13 percent, to 7,927.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 17.64 points, or 2.17 percent, to 828.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 27.14 points, or 1.75 percent, to 1,578.74.

    (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos)