Strong earnings lifted the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow jumping 238 points to 24,322. Nasdaq leaped 114 points to 7118.
On the upside
Dallas Cowboys Football Club owner Jerry Jones made a substantial investment in Comstock Resources (NYSE: CRK).
Shares of Ceridian HCM Holding (NYSE: CDAY) leaped on its first trading day.
Mattersight. (NYSE: MATR) will be acquired by an affiliate of NICE.
On the downside
Essendant (Nasdaq: ESND) reported a loss for the first quarter as revenue slipped.
Anixter International (NYSE: AXE) reported higher first quarter earnings and revenue but the stock price plunged.
Shares of HRG Group (NYSE: HRG), which will merge with Spectrum Brands Holdings (NYSE: SPB), plunged after Spectrum Brands reported lower earnings that missed expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 surged 27 points to 2,666. Bitcoin dropped $71 to $9,103.