A sharp drop in oil prices along with optimism that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next month sent the markets soaring to a higher close. The Dow surged 331 points to 13,289 while Nasdaq leaped 82 points to 2663.

On the upside

PT Media Nusantara Citra will purchase a minimum 51% stake in Chinese mobile content provider Linktone(Nasdaq: LTON).

Beacon Roofing Supply (Nasdaq: BECN) reported fourth quarter results that were in line with expectations despite sluggishness in construction.

Citi Investment Research analyst Andrew Swanson initiated coverage of Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SVNT) with a Buy rating.

On the downside

Friedman Billings downgraded Advanta Corp. (Nasdaq: ADVNB).

Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI) swung to a fourth quarter loss as undergraduate enrollment dropped.

Acorn International (NYSE: ATV) disappointed with third quarter revenue that fell short of expectations as competition increased.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 9 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks leaped 27 points to 770.