Bank stocks led the market higher today after home sales showed a surprise increase and the government announced a plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books.  The KBW Bank Index rose 18.59% and the KBW Regional Banking Index rose 14.00%. The broader S&P 500 Index was up 7.08%.

The Bank Index was led by Bank of America, M&I, and JP Morgan Chase, which were up 26.01%, 25.50%, and 24.67%, respectively. Leading the Regional Banking Index were Colonial Bancgroup, Frontier Financial Corporation, and South Financial Group, which were up 53.85%, 52.04%, and 48.10%, respectively.

All componenets of both the Bank Index and the Regional Banking Index had gains on the day.