Stocks shoot higher as volatility continues

Market volitality
A financial professional looks up at his station at the beginning of the trading day at the New York Stock Exchange October 16, 2008 in New York. The Dow Jones index slid lower in morning trading.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Wall Street has turned in another stunning finish and extended its unprecedented streak of volatility - this time, to the upside. The Dow Jones industrials are up nearly 400 points, after falling 380 in the opening minutes of the session.

It is clear that investors are reacting in the extreme to negative economic news, including disappointing numbers Thursday on industrial production. But traders are also reacting to the market's declines, and were piling in to buy late in the session.

Analysts expect this extraordinary volatility to continue, and warned that just as Monday's huge 936-point surge in the Dow was overdone, there was little reason to trust that Thursday's gains would hold.

The Dow has ended the day up about 401 points at the 8,979 level, having fallen 733 on Wednesday.