Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with words financials+sales. 2 news.

The Dow industrials jumped by 98.68 points to 13549.33 in an abbreviated pre-holiday session, as financial stocks advanced on optimism that banks and brokerages can find fresh sources of capital, and investors hoped holiday sales will turn out to be stronger than anticipated.

Stocks held gains Monday afternoon as news from Merrill Lynch helped boost the financial sector and an upbeat retail sales report suggested consumer confidence is stronger than expected.