Wall St climbs on economy, bank rule; RIMM up late

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday as more data pointed to a stabilizing economy and changes to an accounting rule were seen as shoring up the volatile financial sector in the short term.

World leaders at the G20 summit on London also boosted markets when they announced an additional trillion dollars to support the International Monetary Fund and boost flagging trade.

Stocks have surged in recent sessions as data increasingly point to an easing in the deep recession. The Dow is now on track for its best four-week rally since 1933. Both the blue-chip Dow average and the S&P 500 ended Thursday's session at nearly two-month highs.

Industrial, technology, consumer discretionary and energy stocks were the biggest gainers after government data showed U.S. factory orders rose in February for the first time in seven months, adding to positive economic news earlier in the week.

General Electric, which not only has customers around the world and a large finance arm, but also operates businesses closely linked to the economic cycle, rose nearly 6 percent.

"There's definitely signs that the degree of free fall (in the economy) has declined substantially. We're definitely seeing bounces off the bottom in different areas," said David Kreinces, portfolio manager at ETF Portfolio Management in Newbury Park, California.

"The bottom over the next six months, should it hold, could present a very fast-moving up market, like we've seen over the past month. That presents the biggest risk to investors as missing the start of the next bull market."

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 216.48 points, or 2.79 percent, to 7,978.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 23.30 points, or 2.87 percent, to 834.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index leaped 51.03 points, or 3.29 percent, to 1,602.63.