"Up from the abyss: The market rebound cuts stock funds' losses-- and maybe forces investors to rethink their fears" (LA Times):

For stock mutual fund investors, the first quarter of this year had been looking a lot like the fourth quarter of last year: an Acapulco cliff dive. ¶ But this time around, the equity market landed on a trampoline. Since blue-chip indexes including the Dow Jones industrials sank to 12-year lows March 9, the market has rebounded for five straight weeks. ¶ The comeback dramatically pared stock fund investors' first-quarter losses, turning another catastrophe into a mere extremely painful pummeling. The average domestic stock fund lost 8.2% in the quarter ended March 31, according to investment research firm Morningstar Inc. ¶ By contrast, at the market's lows last month the loss for the new year had been about on par with the fourth quarter's devastating collapse of about 22%. ¶ The numbers have just gotten better with the start of the second quarter, as stocks have continued to rally. The average domestic stock fund's loss had been trimmed to 1.8% by the end of last week.

The stockmarket dropped when the stimulus bill was passed.  That is evidence that the "stimulus" is destined to fail, as a stimulus, that is, as a means of improving the overall economy relative to what it would have been like without the stimulus.  If the bill's objectives are (were) to help the economy as a whole, that value should have translated into a rising stockmarket.

The stockmarket did rise shortly afterwards, of course.  It is unlikely that this was due to a delayed reaction to the stimulus because some other important things had happened in the meantime, specifically, Bernanke's declaration of quantitative easing in monetary policy, and Geithner's (adapted version of Paulson's) plan for the banks.  What worries me about Geithner's plan is that it seems to be largely a giveaway to big corporations, which might make the stockmarket more valuable without improving the economy.  On the other hand, a rebounding stockmarket should be improving consumer confidence and business investment, though in the latter case maybe not enough to make much difference.