Wall Street advances; Dow closes 108 pts up while Asian markets trading firm; Hang Seng up 1.5%

US markets finished 2008 on a positive note, gaining 1.4% this session, and 3.9% over the past two sessions. Investors welcome the gains after markets plunged the most since the great depression as financial shares collapsed, energy and metal producers tumbled and the world's biggest economy suffered a year long recession.
The optimism was largely due to the government's efforts with the Federal Reserve announcing plans to buy 500 billion dollars in mortgage backed securities by mid 2009 and the Treasury pumping in 6 billion dollars in General Motors financing arm G-Mac. The economic data was a mixed bag though, initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 94,000 last week to 492,000. It’s the largest drop since 1992 on closing bell, Dow Jones ended up 108 points at 8776. Nasdaq up 26 points at 1577 and S&P 500 up 12 points at 903.
The drop in jobless claims by 94,000 was a key for the US markets. Applicants seeking unemployment are now below the key 500,000 level. Mortgage applications hold steady even as interest rate on mortgages drop further. Overall mortgage applications drop 155% for week-ended Dec 26 (YoY). Lawmakers wait for guidance from Obama Transition team as economy stimulus could take time. Madoff's lawyers say he would comply with deadline to submit personal & business assets.