US stocks surge on earnings, Nasdaq +1.6%

US stocks bolted higher Thursday following a series of mostly strong earnings reports from Dow members Caterpillar, 3M and others.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 216.58 points (1.32 percent) to 16,677.90.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 23.71 (1.23 percent) at 1,950.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index soared 69.95 (1.60 percent) to 4,452.79.
"The industrials are leading the market much higher," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
"The economic news was somewhat mixed. But we did have very good earnings."
Industrial heavyweight Caterpillar jumped 5.0 percent after third-quarter net income rose eight percent to $1.02 billion as company cost-cutting measures and restructuring offset sluggish economic conditions. Earnings of $1.63 per share blew by the consensus estimate of $1.36.
3M's profits gained six percent to $1.3 billion as the industrial and consumer materials company notched earnings per share of $1.98, two cents above analyst estimates. Shares soared 4.4 percent.
General Motors dipped 1.2 percent as third-quarter net income fell 14.3 percent to $1.47 billion on weak performance in Europe and South America. The results translated into per share earnings of 97 cents, two cents above analyst forecasts.
Dow member AT&T fell 2.4 percent after reporting a 21 percent drop in third-quarter earnings to $3 billion in results that fell short of analyst expectations.
American Airlines gained 3.9 percent on third-quarter earnings of $1.66 per share, three cents above estimates. United Continental rose 0.7 percent after besting expectations by seven cents at $2.75 per share.
Banana giant Chiquita Brands International soared 8.0 percent after Brazilian firms Cutrale Group, a juice exporter, and Safra Group, an investment bank,  raised their previous cash offer for Chiquita by 50 cents to $14.50 a share, valuing the company at $682 million.
The bid came ahead of Friday's Chiquita shareholder vote on a merger with Irish company Fyffes.
Online review and listing site Yelp sank 18.6 percent after it projected fourth-quarter sales of $107-108 million, below the $111 million analyst estimate.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.28 percent from 2.23 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.05 percent from 3.00 percent. Prices and yields move inversely.