Microsoft and IBM Led the Blue Chips to Close 421 Points Higher

The blue chips rocketed to close more than 400 points higher on Thursday. All the major markets ended more than 2% higher. Techs lead the way in today's trading. Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM (IBM) were the blue chips' leaders, both gaining almost 4%. Other big names like Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA) and Facebook (FB) helped push the Nasdaq to the upside. Oracle (ORCL) was the big gainer. The stock closed 10% higher after beating Wall Street's earnings expectations. The stock rally was not deterred by oil prices snapping its 2-day winning streak. Crude futures for the more actively traded February contract sank more than 4% to settle at $54.36 a barrel. Oil did rise earlier in the session on hopes prices will stabilize on drillers like Marathon Oil (MRO) and ConocoPhilips (COP) limiting investments in new production.