YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM.COM]: Strong buying today gave the stock market its third straight gain. In that time the S&P 500 has marched nearly 4% higher, crossing above the 1250 line for the first time in more than two months.

Trade ahead of the open was somewhat subdued. Participants appeared neither surprised nor disappointed that officials from Europe failed to unveil the makings of a comprehensive plan intended to restore the health of the region's financial conditions. Monthly manufacturing and services reports from the eurozone were also mixed at best, but some took encouragement that China reported overnight an increase in manufacturing activity, as measured by the HSBC Manufacturing PMI.

Corporate news flow was somewhat limited. Among the more notable announcements, Dow component Caterpillar (CAT 91.77, +4.38) posted earnings that exceeded what Wall Street had expected. The industrial machinery outfit complemented the report with a strong earnings forecast. The stock climbed to a two-month high, but its strength couldn't carry the Dow as high as the other major equity averages.

The Nasdaq staged the strongest gains of the primary indices. Its outsized gain was helped along by tech stocks, which settled the session 1.9% higher. Some merger and acquisition activity helped inspire interest for tech issues. Shares of RightNow Tech (RNOW 42.94, +6.98) surged in response to news that it will be purchased for $43 per share, a premium of 20% over last Friday's closing price, by Oracle (ORCL 32.87, +0.75). Owners of ORCL applauded the move, bidding the stock up to a three-month high.

On a related note, CIGNA (CI 45.34, +0.64) announced that it will pay $55 for each outstanding share of HealthSystems (HS 53.71, +13.55). The offer represents a premium of about 40% above where HS settled last week. News of the planned acquisition sent shares of SXC Health Solutions (SXCI 43.37, -13.05) down sharply due to concerns that the company's business may no longer be needed by HealthSystems.

Commodities also climbed today, giving the CRB Commodity Index a 2.4% gain. The move was led by oil, which surged to a two-month high and settled pit trade with a gain of more than 4% at $91.27 per barrel.

The greenback gave up an early gain to end the day on a down note. It had only been up modestly this morning, but a bounce by the euro undercut the dollar and left it to trade 0.2% below a currency-weighted basket by day's end.

Crude oil prices surged today, trading to their best levels since early August. On the session futures rallied 4.4% to close at $91.27 per barrel. Futures rallied on the better than expected econ data out in China, as well as strength in equities based on optimism for a deal getting done to help the euro-zone. Natural gas had a very quiet session, chopping around just shy of the flat line and posting declines of 0.8% to settle at $3.60 per MMBtu.

Precious metals did the majority of their rallying in electronic trade. Both metals did manage to trade to their best levels, at $1663.30 and $32.04 respectively, in pit trade but closed below those highs. On the session gold ended up 1% at $1652.00 per ounce, while silver finished up 1.4% at $31.64 per ounce. Copper futures surged 7% to settle at $3.46. Better-than-expected econ data in China, coupled with optimism about a deal getting done in the euro zone, boosted prices today.

Advancing Sectors: Materials +2.3%, Financials +2.2%, Tech +1.9%, Industrials +1.7%, Health Care +1.4%, Consumer Discretionary +1.4%, Energy +1.2%
Declining Sectors: Utilities -0.4%, Consumer Staples -0.6%, Telecom -0.9%DJ30 +104.83 NASDAQ +61.98 NQ100 +2.1% R2K +3.3% SP400 +2.9% SP500 +15.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2095/1.89 bln/485 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2516/927 mln/519