Stocks Fired Up by Fed, Intel

Other data showed capacity utilization was little changed at 68% in June, in line with expectations, and industrial production fell by a smaller than expected 0.4% after a 1.2% drop the month prior.

"I can't say they're outright good numbers, but we got back to this 'less bad' kind of thing, and maybe after the last four weeks of declines we've readjusted to the idea that less bad is enough now," says Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. "For a while the markets had come to a point where you had to get outright good data or better data in order to get a move forward."

In other news, struggling small business lender CIT Group (CIT Quote) could receive a temporary government loan from the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to allow it more time to strengthen its balance sheet, Reuters reports. Shares rose 1.9% to $1.64.

Meanwhile, Boeing's (BA Quote) Integrated Defense Systems division told employees it will have to eliminate about 1,000 jobs due to Pentagon budget reductions. Boeing shares were up 2.3% at $41.23.

Elsewhere, crude oil futures rose $2.02 to $61.54 a barrel, and gold rose $16.60 to $939.40 an ounce, while the dollar fell against the pound and euro.

Longer-dated Treasuries were falling in price, rising in yield. The 10-year was lower by 1-8/32 to yield 3.62%, while the 30-year lost 2-6/32, yielding 4.51%.

Stocks overseas were mostly higher. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 and the DAX in Frankfurt advanced 2.6% and 3.1%, respectively. In Asia, the Nikkei in Japan and Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.1% and 2.1%, respectively.