Daily Summary....

U.S. Markets
Dow +298.98 (+2.50%)
Nasdaq +24.14 (+1.05%)
S&P 500 +28.10 (+2.14%)

News That Moved the Market

Regulators Meet to Save Bond Insurers. The markets rallied Wednesday on solid volume. One of the catalysts for the move was news that U.S. banks were meeting with New York State insurance regulators in an effort to sure up funds for struggling bond insurers. The new capital would help bond insurers keep their AAA ratings. Ratings downgrades could spark another panic and oversupply in the credit market, as well as push banks profits even lower. Bond insurers like MBIA (MBI, +32.6%) and Ambac (ABK, +71.9%) jumped on the news and the previously weak financial sector led Wednesday's rally.

Apple Drags Down Tech. The tech sector underperformed mainly because of last night's Apple (AAPL, -10.7%) earnings report, which beat estimates, but offered a disappointing forecast.

Pfizer Back on Track. Pfizer (PFE, +2.8%) announced fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations and surprised the Street by upping its 2008 outlook.

Ebay's CEO Steps Down; Outlook Disappoints. Ebay's (EBAY, 6.7% day; -8.3% A.H.) CEO Meg Whitman announced she will retire and be replaced internally by John Donohoe. Ebay also reported a 53% increase in sales after the bell, but was down in after hours trading because of a gloomy 2008 outlook.

Tomorrow:

Notable Earnings:
Amgen (AMGN)
AT&T (T)
Ford (F)
Microsoft (MSFT)
Nokia (NOK)

8:30 AM: Jobless Claims
10:00 AM: Existing Home Sales
10:30 AM: Crude Inventories