Credit market fears took a back seat to good old-fashioned merger mania on Wednesday, as reports of talks between Ameritrade and E*Trade drove stocks higher.
Ameritradeshares jumped 5% on a report in the Wall Street Journal that it is in talks with E*Trade, and news that credit was flowing for blue chips boosted the broader market.
Tech Datasurged 7% on blowout sales and guidance, while Blue Coatsoared 29% on a 71% jump in sales.
Appleadded 4% on European iPhone sales hopes.
CenturyTelgained 6.6% on a share buyback.
The Nasdaq surged 31 to 2552, the S&P 500 gained 17 to 1464, and the Dow rose 145 to 13,236. Volume rose to 3.25 billion shares on the NYSE, and 1.84 billion on the Nasdaq. Advancing issues led by a 26-6 margin on the NYSE, and 21-9 on the Nasdaq. Upside volume was 83% on the NYSE, and 81% on the Nasdaq. New highs-new lows were 24-74 on the NYSE, and 60-79 on the Nasdaq.