Money / stock market Stocks Make Modest Gains By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff Posted Feb 23, 2009 8:46 AM CST Copied Dilip Patel, left, and Glenn Carell, both of Bear Wagner Specialists, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Feb. 20, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams) Stocks went modestly higher at the open today, with the Dow up about 60 points and the Nasdaq and S&P gaining 0.5% and 0.9% respectively, driven by big gains in financials. Citigroup was up 18%, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the government might convert its preferred shares into common equity, which would give it a 25%-40% stake in Citi. Bank of America, meanwhile, gained 15% after CEO Ken Lewis said there was “no reason” it should be nationalized. (More stock market stories.) Report an error