Money | Dow Jones Stocks Continue Strong Rally Dow up 207 points; third consecutive day of falling oil prices helps By Nick McMaster Posted Jul 17, 2008 3:35 PM CDT Copied Traders Richard Farrell, left, and Christopher Carrella, both with Kellogg Specialist Group, work at computer terminals during early trading at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday July17, 2008. (AP Photo) The markets continued yesterday’s rally as oil kept falling—hitting a low of $131 a barrel for the first time in 6 weeks—and traders bought up financial shares with renewed confidence, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 207.38 points to close at 11,446.66; its 484-point jump since yesterday is the best two-day gain since November. The Nasdaq rose 27.45 to 2,312.30, and the S&P 500 climbed 14.96 to 1,260.31. JP Morgan led financials to rally after disclosing a 53% drop in second-quarter net income that nonetheless beat analysts' predictions. "The bank shares have gotten killed in the last month because the market was in fear that the US financial system itself was deteriorating,” said a Miller Tabak strategist. “So there is a massive sigh of relief that these numbers are…better than expectations.” Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. A lesson in minding your own business ... at 30,000 feet. The death toll in the Texas floods has risen to 27, including 9 kids. Report an error