Stocks gained ground for a third straight day as crude oil prices plunged by more than $4 a barrel. The markets surged higher early in the afternoon before losing some of their gains as the afternoon went along. The Dow finished higher by 52. The Nasdaq closed higher by 22. The S&P 500 closed higher by 7 points, or about .5%. 
The transportation sector stood out as a major winner today as oil prices plunged. Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) gained 4.14% and hit a new 52 week high. Expeditors International (Nasdaq:EXPD) shares gained 3.09% on the session. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) shares rose 3.37% as airline stocks surged across the board. UAL Corporation (Nasdaq:UAUA) gained 6.07% on the day. Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL) shares popped 6.64% on higher than normal daily volume.
Healthcare stocks were also very strong today. For a group that usually makes small moves, there were some substantial notable winners. Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) gained 2.37% on slightly higher than normal volume. The biggest winners from the group came from the biotech sector. Celgene Corporation (Nasdaq:CELG) shares rose 3.45% today. Genentech (NYSE:DNA) shares surged 4.33% on the session. Amylin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:AMLN) gained 4.52% on double its normal volume. Alkermes (Nasdaq:ALKS) shares jumped 5.36% in today's trading.
The services sector showed some impressive strength today. Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq:COCO) popped 11.5% on huge volume today. Mastercard (NYSE:MA) shares surged 7.71% after their CFO issued some very positive comments about the company's prospects going forward. Expedia (Nasdaq:EXPE) shares gained 5.71% continuing their recent strong run. Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) charged higher by 4.82% on more than double its normal volume after positive comments from a Piper Jaffray analyst. The McGraw Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) gained 4.28% on the session. Accenture (NYSE:ACN) also had a strong day, gaining 4.27%. Most major retailers had a strong day despite weak results from Sears. Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) shares rose by 2.33% on the session. Macy's (NYSE:M) gained 3.17% for the trading day.
As energy prices plummeted many stocks that have had big runs lately pulled back today. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) shares lost 1.73% today. Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) shares fell 3.18% today. Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO) and Ultra Petroleum (NYSE:UPL) fell by 2.77% and 4.5% respectively.
52 week highs
- Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) shares gained 1.88% on the session
- EarthLink (Nasdaq:ELNK) This company is showing some signs of life lately and investors are rewarding the stock.
- Landstar Systems (Nasdaq:LSTR) This transportation company has done amazingly well. Shares gained 1.88% today.
The revision higher to 0.9% for Q1 GDP growth was a positive backdrop to today's session as well. The more economic news that comes out where things don't look so bad, the more attractive the valuation for stocks will look. If it turns out that the economy holds up far better than most predicted then stocks could well have a nice run, but that is still an unanswered question at this point.
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