Stocks surge in final minutes

Wall Street has made another big late-day move.
   
The Dow was about 900 points higher at the closing bell. Bargain hunters were on a rampage, in anticipation of a Federal Reserve rate cut tomorrow. They grabbed stocks that have been pounded lower in recent sessions.
   
Investors looked past news of a sharp drop in consumer confidence. Instead, they’re focusing on expectations that the Fed will cut its fed funds rate by half a point to 1 percent.
   
The market did fluctuate after the Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence has fallen to 38 in October, well below the 51 analysts expected.