20 percent since its lows in mid-November. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq eked out a small gain. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended below 13.

So far this year, the Dow has surged an impressive 14 percent, while the S&P and Nasdaq have soared more than 13 percent each.

Most key S&P sectors were higher, led by industrials and energy. Techs were in the red.

"The market is still exhibiting good karma from last week's employment report," said Cam Albright, director of asset allocation at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "Some of the news that's coming out of Europe has been a bit more positive as well – the German factory orders report was helpful."

European shares were higher following some better-than-expected earnings and afterIMPORTANT THING IN THE UNIVERSE... PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY ARE). IT'S LIKE, YEAH, THREE KINGS IS ONE BIG OBVIOUS METAPHOR FOR THE AMERICAN MOTIVES IN KUWAIT, BUT YOU WILL RARELY SEE A METAPHOR MADE MORE COMPELLING, FUNNY AND VIVID. AND IT WAS HIS CONFIDENCE WITH THIS EXACT APPROACH, ALONG WITH ITS SUCCESS, THAT LEADS SOMEONE TO MAKE SOMETHING AS BRAZEN AS I HEART HUCKABEES, A STAR-LADEN BRECHTIAN VEHICLE FOR PURE EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHY. AGAIN, SO MUCH OF IT IS YOUR BASIC SOPHOMORIC PHILOSOPHY STUFF, BUT THERE'S SUCH AN EARNEST DIRECTNESS TO ALL OF IT THAT IT WORKS WHOLEHEARTEDLY. WITH HIM, THERE'S NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TEXT AND SUBTEXT. RUSSELL HAD SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT LIFE ON THIS PLANET AND HE WAS GOING TO SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS. IT'S THE