Stocks continue surge with earnings season in full swing

NEW YORK -- Investors pushed Wall Street's rally forward Thursday, just at a slower pace.

Stocks continued the week's rally-and-pause play, closing higher after surging the day before on a strong profit report from chipmaker Intel.

Stocks took flight after zigzagging the first half of the day. Analysts said the market's smaller moves were to be expected after the Dow Jones industrial average surged 470 points, or 5.9%, in only three days.

The Dow was advanced 95.61, or 1.11%, to 8,711.82. In the broad market, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.06, or 0.86%, to 940.74, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.13, or 1.19%, to 1,885.03.

"A lot of the good news has been priced in and the market really needs to see more evidence that there is strong momentum in the financials," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.

The jump in stocks this week reversed a month-long slide that came as investors worried that a huge rally in March and April on hopes for an economic recovery had gone too far. This week's earnings reports have given investors some of the confirmation that the economy isn't as bad as feared, but they still want to see more evidence of a turnaround.

Meanwhile, bond prices jumped. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.53% from 3.62% late Wednesday.