Wall Street rises

Stocks rose soundly today following word that some of the problems dogging big companies like General Motors Corp. and Bear Stearns Cos. could be on the mend.

GM, one of the 30 stocks that makes up the Dow Jones industrial average, led the market higher from the outset Wednesday with word it had struck a tentative contract agreement with the United Auto Workers that could allow the company to shed some of its burdensome health care costs.