Strong earnings, GDP data lift stocks

Stocks rose sharply Thursday, with large parts of the market erasing Wednesday’s losses, as investors cheered a batch of strong earnings and data that showed the U.S. economy grew at a robust annual rate of 3.2% in the fourth quarter.

Investors also got a welcome respite from the turmoil in overseas markets, particularly in Turkey and Argentina.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 19.99 points, or 1.1%, to 1,794.19, with all 10 sectors of the index closing higher. That more than made up the 18.29 points the index lost Wednesday.

Nasdaq jumped 71.69 points, or 1.8%, to 4,123.13, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 109.82 points, or 0.7%, to 15,848.61.

Facebook jumped $7.55, or 14%, to $61.08. The social media company reported results late Wednesday that exceeded the expectations of analysts.

It wasn’t all good news out of the technology sector. Amazon.com sank in afterhours trading after releasing results that fell short of what investors had expected. The stock of the online retailing pioneer dropped $35.47, or 9%, to $367.54.

In other earnings news, Visa rose $3.76, or 2%, to $220.88 after the company reported a 9% rise in firstquarter profit, beating expectations.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals was the biggest advancer in the S&P 500, rising $28.27, or 21%, to $162 after the company also beat analysts’ expectations and gave a strong 2014 outlook. Alexion is a specialized drug maker focused on rare genetic diseases.

Alexion helped lift the stocks of other drug makers. Dow members Merck and Pfizer each rose more than 2%. Specialized drug makers Gilead Sciences and Biogen were up 2% and 4%, respectively.

Investors got a break from the troubles in emerging markets. The Turkish lira, Argentine peso and the South African rand, another troubled currency, stabilized.

The bond market also had a day of stability. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.69% from 2.68%.