Banks Jump on Italy PM’s Departure — Tuesday’s IP Market Recap

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tdp2664 InvestorPlace The markets clung tightly to Italy's political situation on Tuesday, and when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced he would resign following the approval of a new budget law, stocks took off. The Dow Jones Industrial average jumped almost 150 points in the afternoon and finished the day up about 100. It brought a slew of financials skyward with it. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) jumped more than 4% to finish Tuesday at $26.53, with Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB , $40.55), Citigroup (NYSE: C , $31.42) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS , $108.58) each climbing about 3%. The KBW Bank Index (BKX) of 24 major financial institutions finished the day about 2.5% higher. While Italy still faces massive budgetary problems, Berlusconi's departure opens up the possibility of a new government that could make the large-scale changes necessary to further shore up the country's fiscal mess. Also headed upward were the two big U.S. automakers, with General Motors (NYSE: GM ) gaining 4.3% to $25.04, and Ford (NYSE: F ) jumping 3.48% to $11.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( NASDAQ : VRTX ) had the bottom drop out for the second straight day, shedding more than 8% to end Tuesday at $30.45 — a day after it shed more than 9% on positive news from competing hepatitis C drugmakers. However, those rivals — Pharmasset ( NASDAQ : VRUS ) and Inhibitex ( NASDAQ : INHX ) — didn't fare as well today, with VRUS shares sliding about 4% to $69.07, and INHX shares staying about flat at $9.65. Three Up McCormick & Schmick (NASDAQ: MSSR ): Up 27.47% ($1.86) to $8.63. Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN ): Up 8.61% ($43.85) to $552.85. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI ): Up 4.54% ($2.58) to $59.38. Three Down Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW ): Down 3.53% ($2.63) to $71.84. United Continental (NYSE: UAL ): Down 2.88% (54 cents) to $18.20. Sony (NYSE: SNE ): Down 2.83% (51 cents) to $17.48. As of this writing, Kyle Woodley did not own a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Check out recaps from previous trading days here .