US stocks soared after the European Central Bank announced a huge bond-buying stimulus program Thursday, with banks and big tech stocks leading the way helped by a sharply higher dollar.
Rumors that Google is interested in buying Twitter -- which could portend one of the largest-ever mergers in tech stocks -- also fed the buying frenzy.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 263.42 points (1.50 percent) at 17,817.70.
The S&P 500 surged 31.12 (1.53 percent) to 2,063.24, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 82.98 (1.78 percent) to 4,750.40.