Indications that the Federal Reserve would continue to support the economy sent the markets soaring to a sharply higher close with the Dow leaping 181 points to 16,437. Nasdaq jumped 70 points to 4183.

On the upside

Zacks Equity Research said that E-Commerce China Dangdang (Nasdaq: DANG) would likely beat earnings expectations.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PCRX) priced its pubic offering of 1.6 million common shares at $64 per share.

Zacks Equity Research noted that TeleCommunication Systems' (Nasdaq: TSYS) stock price climbed recently.

On the downside

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas downgraded General Motors (NYSE: GM) from an Overweight rating to an Underweight rating, cut his earnings estimate and slashed the price target from $49 to $33.

Rising inflation in Brazil weighed down shares of Centrais El (NYSE: EBR).

Investors locked in profits on Prana Biotechnology (Nasdaq: PRAN).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 20 points to 1872. Bitcoin slipped $7.29 or 1.63% to $440.21.