Stocks Open Higher As Investor Watch Earnings

NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street is up sharply in early trading as global credit markets are showing signs of easing. One of the signs: a big drop in the bank-to-bank lending rate known as Libor.

After two weeks of extreme volatility on Wall Street, investors are hoping that an improvement in the credit markets will mean stocks have reached a bottom. They’re waiting to see what Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has to say about the financial system and the economy. He’s scheduled to testify before the House Budget Committee.

Meanwhile, hundreds of companies are reporting earnings this week, and investors will be looking to see what their outlooks are for the coming quarters.

The Dow Jones industrials are up 105 points at the 8,957 level.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)