Stocks Surge After Roubini Nod

Stocks advanced earlier in the week after earnings surprises from Goldman Sachs(GS Quote) and Intel (INTC Quote), some better-than-expected economic data and an improved forecast for economic shrinkage from the Federal Open Market Committee.

Its likely still too early to say that sentiment has changed, although there are least inklings to support it, says Brett D'Arcy, chief investment officer for CBIZ Wealth Management.

"I think you what you saw yesterday was a lot of money coming in from the sidelines, and that money was waiting for some catalyst -- and the Intel release was that catalyst" says D'Arcy. "So I can't say that this is going to be the beginning of a big change, but there was an increase in activity."

(Click below to hear my entire interview with D'Arcy, including his thoughts on tech and energy.)

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One bit of improved economic news came from the Department of Labor, which said early Thursday that there were 522,000 new jobless claims last week, down from 569,000 the week prior and less than the 553,000 expected. That data followed a batch of earnings, some better and some worse than expected.

Among them, Nokia (NOK Quote) posted a 66% decline in second-quarter profit and said it no longer expects to gain market share in the second half of the year. Its shares fell 14.2% to $13.46.

Slumping mobile-phone sales also hurt handset maker Sony Ericsson. The Ericsson (ERIC Quote) and Sony (SNE Quote) joint venture reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss after sales fell 39%. The joint venture said it has shed around 2,350 jobs. Those stocks were down 0.2% and 1.7%, respectively.