Shares in Countrywide Financial Corp. soared more than 25 percent Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point.

Shares in the Countrywide closed up 25 percent to $5.11 less than a day after hitting a 52-week low of $3.95.

Also surging was Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home, which closed up 9.8 percent to $23.06. Fellow homebuilder Calabasas-based Ryland Group Corp. added more than 10 percent to close at $29.13.

The move by the Fed slashed a key interest rate in an effort to stem a spreading credit crisis. Investors sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 420 points to 12,392 — its biggest gain in five years.