Global Rally Spurs Wall Street

"Global markets look to be stabilizing, which should put us back in a positive trend," said Hogan.

Headlining the U.S. session were the nation's retail stores, which posted their February sales results. The world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart (WMT Quote), said same-store sales rose an anemic 0.9% in February. Analysts had expected Wal-Mart to post a 1.5% rise, and the stock finished down 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $47.88.

On the other hand, rival Target (TGT Quote) beat expectations after posting a 5.7% increase in same-store sales last month. The retailer said it expects March comp sales to surge 11% to 13% because of the earlier Easter holiday. Target gained $1.09, or 1.8%, to $61.69.

Among others, Pier 1 (PIR Quote) said its February comparable sales dropped 8.4%. Same-store sales were down 5.7% at Pacific Sunwear (PSUN Quote).

Limited's (LTD Quote) comps were up 3% last month, while Gap (GPS Quote) posted a better-than-expected 4% decline.

Both Costco Wholesale (COST Quote) and Federated Department Stores (FD Quote) reported same-store sales growth that came in below estimates, while Nordstrom (JWN Quote) blew away the forecast.

As for earnings, TiVo (TIVO Quote) posted a narrower-than-expected fourth-quarter loss after the prior close, but still traded lower. TiVo fell 5 cents, or 0.8%, closing at $6.09.

Later, homebuilder Hovnanian (HOV Quote) is expected to report a fiscal first-quarter loss of 69 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call. Hovnanian was 0.3% higher ahead of the report, up 8 cents at $30.48.