Jumped on strong earnings

The advance was led by technology shares, which rallied after Intel said PC sales rose 4% in Q2, although the technology bellwether warned that growth will be slower in Q3. Bank of America's results beat analysts' expectations, but investors remain worried about mortgage-related expenses.  Investors are grappling with an uncertain outlook for Europe and a looming fiscal crisis in the United States. The big question is how much of the fiscal cliff and European currency crisis has been factored into stocks. After the market closed, IBM reported better than expected earnings, but sales were weaker than expected.