Wall Street bounces back from low

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US shares rose sharply on Tuesday, bouncing back from their 12-year lows set on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 236.2 points, or 3.3%, at 7,350.9.

The banks were the big gainers again after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said nationalising them would not be a good idea.

Citigroup closed up by 21.5% and Bank of America rose 21.0%. Both had also risen sharply on Monday as a bigger government stake looked less likely.

Mr Bernanke said the significant value built up in the country's banks would be lost if they were government-owned.

Economic plans

There had been concerns among investors that the government taking over banks would wipe out their shareholdings.

But Mr Bernanke's comments together with Monday's joint statement from government and regulators have been taken to mean that the banks will remain in private hands.

Another reason for the rise was optimism ahead of President Barack Obama's address to Congress.

It is hoped that the president will give more detail of his plans for the economy.

Earlier in European trading, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.9%, the Dax in Frankfurt dropped 1.0% and the Cac 40 in Paris fell 0.7%.