Wall Street continued the global stock rally on President-elect Obama's commitment to a massive public-works program, plus the likely bailout of the nation's automakers. For the day, the Dow Jones climbed nearly 3.5% (298 points) to 8,934; the S&P 500 jumped 3.8% (33 points) to 909; the Nasdaq soared 4.1% (62 points) to 1,571; and the Russell 2000 zoomed 4.3% (19) to 481. Nothing like the promise of billions in tax dollars flowing into corporate coffers to buoy investors and traders, right? Not so fast, money watchers cautioned. "There's a chance we could be higher for the day, but I'd be very cautious about jumping in with both feet and expecting what could be a Santa Claus rally going into the New Year," Scott Fullman of WJB Capital, told AP. "The fact is, we're not seeing the credit markets opening up, we're not seeing buying of the distressed debt, and that leads to additional worries for stocks." “If it’s a bull it’s a mad bull, a very confused bull,” John Carey, a Boston-based fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management, told Bloomberg. “People are looking at the ruins of the stock market and saying there’s awfully cheap stocks. That’s different from strong conviction prices are moving in an upward direction because of improving fundamentals.” Oil followed stocks higher, climbing $2.75 a barrel to close at $43.56. Posted by Michael Winter