The Nasdaq soared 7% on Tuesday, and some of the stock index’s biggest names fared even better.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) were up more than 10% each, while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) gained about 9% each.
The reason for the rally was news that Citigroup (NYSE: C) turned a profit in the first two months of the year, a glimmer of hope for the battered banking sector. Also boosting stocks were hopes for an easing of mark-to-market accounting rules and a return of the uptick rule, Depression-era SEC restrictions on shorting that were eliminated in 2007.
News from Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) that business isn’t getting worse sent the chip sector higher by 8%. Rambus (NASDAQ: RMBS) gained 11% on a licensing deal with Hynix.
Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) surged 15% on plans to raise money.
Hutchinson (NASDAQ: HTCH) was a big winner, soaring 43%, but Comtech (NASDAQ: CMTL) plunged 37% on its results.
Over on the NYSE, EMC (NYSE: EMC) and VMware (NYSE: VMW) surged after EMC said it has no interest in selling its majority stake in VMware, while Micron (NYSE: MU) and AMD (NYSE: AMD) rallied on TI’s earnings news.
The Nasdaq soared 89 to 1358, the S&P 500 surged 43 to 719, and the Dow soared 379 to 6926. Volume rose to 9.63 billion shares on the NYSE, and 2.44 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancers led by a 34-4 margin on the NYSE, and 23-4 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 96% on the NYSE, and 95% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 8-158 on the NYSE, and 6-195 on the Nasdaq.