Stocks open sharply higher

NEW YORK (AP) Stocks are sharply higher, a sign of investors' relief over the government's plan to help banks remove as much as $1 trillion in bad assets from their books.

The Treasury Department on Monday announced a plan to revive lending that would rely on the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as well as private investors.
The goal is to remove the toxic assets that have burdened the banks and to boost lending.

In the early going, the Dow is up 162 at 7,440. The Standard & Poor's 500 is up 15 at 784, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 32 at 1,489.

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