US STOCKS-Market soars on tech, banks, Wal-Mart and oil

Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:31pm EST
By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday with Nasdaq notching its biggest gain in more than four years after news that Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) was in talks to offer iPhones in China sent investors bargain hunting among battered technology stocks.

Reassurance from the chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that the investment bank does not face big credit losses helped ignite a rally in financial stocks, easing some worries about the breadth of the credit crisis.

Retailers also caught fire when surprisingly strong earnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and another big drop in oil prices eased worry about consumer spending on the doorstep of the holiday shopping season. U.S. oil futures ended below $92 a barrel..............LINK