Special Report: Global Financial Crisis　

    NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street settled higher Friday, extending the biggest weekly advance for the Standard & Poor's 500Index since 1974, as financials and auto shares rallied.

    Citigroup rose 18 percent as investors' sentiment was boosted after the second largest U.S. bank by assets had 306 billion U.S. dollars in troubled assets guaranteed by the U.S. government last weekend.

    General Motors gained nearly ten percent and Ford surged 25 percent. Auto giants will make its case for federal rescue funds next week. The market expected another bailout plan for automakers.

    U.S. retailers opened doors at midnight and discounted merchandise on the day after Thanksgiving, kicking off the possible weakest holiday shopping season in six years. Shares of retailers declined.

    New York Stock Exchange was closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and will be open for a shortened trading session on Friday. As many traders gone for a long holiday weekend, the session is quiet.

    The Dow Jones rose 102.43, or 1.17 percent, to 8,829.04. Broader indexes also moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.56, or 0.96 percent, to 896.24; and the Nasdaq advanced 3.47, or 0.23 percent, to 1,535.57.