NEW YORK — Reassuring news on housing and banking yesterday brought investors back to stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 235 points, making up three-quarters of last week's losses. All the major indexes rose about 3 percent.

Better-than-expected profits at Lowe's Cos., an uptick in homebuilder sentiment and analysts' positive outlook on U.S. banks raised confidence in an economic rebound. "There's a realization that things are going to get better," said James Cox of Harris Financial Group. "That's the main theme of the market over the last couple of weeks."