After weeks of worries about the economy pulled stocks down, indexes have risen sharply for two days in a row.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 140 points Tuesday, thanks in part to signs that concerns of a global slowdown may be overblown.

Quarterly results from Nike Inc. bested analysts' expectations and sent its stock up 10 percent. That helped lead to a rally in stocks of clothing stores, restaurants and jewelers. Such companies tend to do well when consumers are less worried about things like high gas prices and are willing to spend on themselves.

Other industries that do well during periods of economic expansion led the stock market higher. Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow, gained the most, rising 3 percent. Industrials gained 1.5 percent overall. Consumer discretionary companies gained 1.9 percent.

Both sectors are still well below their highs for the year. Industrials and consumer companies have lost 5.8 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, since peaking on April 29.

The Dow gained 145.13 points, or 1.2 percent, to 12,188.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16.57, or 1.3 percent, to 1,296.67. The Nasdaq composite index added 41.03, or 1.5 percent, to 2,729.31. All three indexes are down more than 3 percent for the month.

Signs that the housing market is improving helped lift Home Depot Inc. It's sales benefit when consumers spend money on home improvement. Home Depot gained 2.4 percent following a report that home prices rose in April in 13 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. The index rose for the first time in eight months thanks to an annual push to buy homes in the spring.

Shaw Group Inc. said on Tuesday that problems with a subcontractor on an energy and chemicals project and troubles on another project triggered a $70 million loss in its fiscal third quarter.

Shares of the engineering and construction company dropped 12.6 percent in after-hours trading.

After markets closed, Shaw reported a loss of $70 million, or 89 cents per share, for the three months ended May 31. That compared with net income of $68.2 million, or 79 cents per share on more shares outstanding, in the same quarter a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a profit of 68 cents, on average, in the latest quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue dropped nearly 17 percent to $1.49 billion from $1.79 billion in last year's fiscal third quarter.

Shaw said that unspecified "subcontractor execution issues" resulted in cost increases to the company on an energy and chemicals project. That reduced earnings by $112.8 million on a pretax basis, and $68.9 million after taxes.

The Baton Rouge-based company also recorded a pretax accounting impairment of $48.1 million, or $29.4 million after taxes, on loans made to Nuclear Innovation North America's South Texas Project.

A look at the 10 biggest volume decliners on New York Stock Exchange at the close of trading:

Blk DefOppCredTr : Approximately 7,500 shares changed hands, a 88.2 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.06 or .4 percent to $13.90.

Gabelli Hltc&Well : Approximately 10,300 shares changed hands, a 79.6 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.06 or .8 percent to $7.60.

Hubbell A : Approximately 200 shares changed hands, a 86.7 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.75 or 1.3 percent to $58.00.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. : Approximately 160,000 shares changed hands, a 81.6 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.06 or .2 percent to $35.26.

Korea Fund Inc. : Approximately 1,400 shares changed hands, a 93.1 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.28 or .6 percent to $47.75.

Nuveen New York Select Tax Free Income Portfolio : Approximately 600 shares changed hands, a 86.4 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.10 or .7 percent to $13.53.

Primedia Inc. : Approximately 51,000 shares changed hands, a 81.9 decrease from its 65-day average volume. The shares rose $.01 or .1 percent to $7.10.

What began with a steep drop in the stock market ended with a modest decline Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost just 60 points after being down nearly 240 points earlier in the day.

A jump in the number of people applying for jobless benefits and plummeting oil prices drove stocks lower at the market open. By 11 a.m., the Dow was down 234 points. Then came late afternoon reports that Greece may have reached a deal for a new austerity plan. The Dow made up nearly 100 points between 2:45 and 3 p.m. alone.

The Dow finished with a loss of 59.67 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,050. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, down as many as 24 points, closed down just 3.64, or 0.3 percent, to 1,283.50.

Since late April, reports on manufacturing, retail sales, home sales and other economic indicators have come in weaker than economists anticipated. Europe's debt problems and a slowing growth rate in China have also raised concerns about the global economy. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said problems plaguing the economy may last longer than previously thought.

Greece's beleaguered government said Thursday it will start taxing minimum-wage earners and encourage local banks to help the state delay debt payments for bonds maturing as late as 2015.

Evangelos Venizelos, the country's new finance minister, also said the government is encouraging a deferment scheme under the so-called "Vienna initiative," signing up private investors to voluntarily renew their debt holdings as they expire.

The next big challenge for Greece is to have parliament approve a new round of austerity measures before getting the vital next batch of loans, worth euro12 billion, out of its euro110 billion rescue fund from eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.

Venizelos predicted Thursday that the two-stage vote on June 28 and 30 would be successful, and he met with EU and IMF debt inspectors to discuss details of the new austerity plan worth a total of euro28 billion. The two sides reached broad agreement on the package late Thursday, with discussions on "minor details" left to be concluded Friday, two Greek government officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, in keeping with regulations.