The New York Times also released  a report that some 19 banks undergoing government stress tests will pass. Citigroup shares alone rose by 10%.  Money managers who recently purchased stock in Wells Fargo and Citigroup are quite happy they did. Also a strong rally in retail stocks helped push the broader stock markets to gains on Wednesday, but with many chains reporting disappointing March sales have put pressure on that sector. Disappointing results from Wal Mart were a worrisome signal for the broader economy. With people already cutting back on spending because of the economy at higher end shops like Tiffany so are now the lower end spenders at places like Wal Mart. Regardless, there’s growing evidence that the economy is beginning to turn for the better. Inventories for one have fallen by the largest increment on record which is another bit of good news.

Looks like the tide is turning.

Early March saw bottoms in all the major indexes.  Since then the Dow has risen by almost 20%.  March may have been the bottom of this bear market some analysts are now saying. Bulls are seeing signs of a gradual turn in the U.S. economy with stocks and the banking system that were not evident in other bounces during this bear market in the last 17 or so months.  Recent reports indicate home sales have exceeded expectations and this past Friday a report indicated that consumer spending rose 0.2% from January.

Hundreds of billions of dollars of stimulus money is beginning to take effect.  Much of this will rely on the results of the stress tests for banks, which are expected to be completed in April. A passing grade for the banks would do much to restore confidence in the financial sector of the stock market. More talk of additional stimulus may create panic and negate much of the recent bounce. April will be a true test for the bulls recent bounce-back.