Toxic debt plan prompts biggest-ever Wall Street gain

Wall Street got the news it wanted on the US economy's biggest problems - banks and housing - and responded with a rally that hurtled the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 500 points.

Investors added rocket fuel today to a two-week-old advance, cheering the US government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books and also welcoming a report showing a surprising increase in home sales. Major stock indicators surged more than 6%, including the Dow.