Shares in New York rallied for the second day running yesterday, lifting the Dow Jones industrial average back towards 8,000. The Dow rose 123.56 points - or 1.6 per cent - to 7,915.97, adding to Monday's 113-point jump and pushing this year's gain toward 23 per cent.

Broad-market indicators also rose sharply, with the Standard and Poor's 500 index boosting this year's spoils to 31 per cent and the Nasdaq composite index increasing its 1997 gain to 21 per cent.

Barring a steep decline tomorrow, it will be the first time that the Dow and the S-and-P 500 have gained more than 20 per cent for three successive years. Both measures have more than doubled in that time.

The news from overseas was encouraging again. A dozen international financial institutions pledged to find ways to help South Korea through its credit crisis.