The Closing Bell, March 4: Regionals rally as buyers propel markets

Buyers rushed back into the stock market Wednesday,lifting many regional stocks in the process.

Embarq shares had the biggest point gain, climbing $2.09. Waddell & Reed gained 75 cents, and Garmin was up 53.

On Wall Street, stocks rallied on word of a possible economic stimulus package in China and an Obama administration plan to help struggling U.S. homeowners. A slightly better-than-expected report on the services sector also helped. All the major indexes jumped more than 2 percent.

The advance followed five straight sessions of unrelenting selling that left major indexes at levels not seen in more than a decade.
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According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 149.82 points, or 2.23 percent, and closed at 6,875.84.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 16.54 points, or 2.38 percent, and closed at 712.87.

The Nasdaq composite index climbed 32.73 points, or 2.48 percent, and closed at 1,353.74.

An early reading of the KansasCity.com index of 145 regional companies showed a gain of 6.11 points, or 1.43 percent, at 434.03.

Among Kansas City area companies of interest:

I Cerner Corp. closed at $35.22, up 35 cents.

I Commerce Bancshares Inc. closed at $30.96, down $1.13.

I DST Systems Inc. closed at $27.85, up 35 cents.

I Embarq Corp. closed at $33.98, up $2.09.

I Garmin Ltd. closed at $17.02, up 53 cents.

I Great Plains Energy closed at $12.06, up 25 cents.

I H&R Block Inc. closed at $18.09, down 8 cents.

I Kansas City Southern closed at $14.91, up 9 cents.

I Sprint Nextel Corp. closed at $3.32, up 4 cents.

I UMB Financial Corp. closed at $36.42, up 15 cents.

I Waddell & Reed Financial Corp. closed at $13.48, up 75 cents.

I YRC Worldwide Inc. closed at $1.61, down 11 cents.

The Closing Bell is compiled from staff and wire reports by Steve Rosen. Call him at 816-234-4879 or send e-mail to srosen@kcstar.com. A recap of the day’s markets activity is available in the Business section of The Kansas City Star.