A gain in Chinese markets sent stocks soaring with the Dow surging 230 points to 16,279. Nasdaq leaped 90 points to 4,608.

On the upside

Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) will increase the price of gasoline and diesel beginning today.

Bargain hunters lifted shares of Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX).

Chinese technology firm Unisplendour will acquire a 15% stake in Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC).

On the downside

Global president of Gap's (NYSE: GPS) Old Navy business will leave the company in November to become chief executive officer of Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) prompting downgrades.

Barracuda Networks (NYSE: CUDA) fell to a loss for the second quarter.

Mellanox Technologies (Nasdaq: MLNX) will acquire EZchip (Nasdaq: EZCH) in a cash deal valued at approximately $811 million.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 29 points to 1,913. Bitcoin held steady at $236.