Major Averages Jump To Best Closing Levels In Two Years

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday, as traders reacted to several positive catalysts. With the strong gains on the day, the major averages ended the session at their best closing levels in two months.

Most of the major sectors showed strong moves to the upside on the day, reflecting broad based buying interest on Wall Street.

Substantial strength was visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in over three months.

Steel stocks also posted particularly strong gains, resulting in a 3.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The gain by the index came after it closed lower in the four previous sessions.

Carpenter Technology (CRS) turned in one of the steel sector's best performances despite reporting weaker than expected first quarter results.

Railroad stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, driving the Dow Jones Railroads Index up by 2.9 percent. Guangshen Railway (GSH) and Union Pacific (UNP) posted standout gains.

Computer hardware, chemical, telecom and airline stocks also moved notably higher, while natural gas stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend.

The major averages moved roughly sideways going into the close, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow soared 320.55 points or 1.9 percent to 17,489.16, the Nasdaq surged up 79.93 points or 1.7 percent to 4,920.05 and the S&P 500 jumped 33.57 points or 1.7 percent to 2,052.51.