US stocks surge on oil rally, hopes of Greek debt deal

The Dow gained more than 300 points Tuesday as US stocks rallied on higher oil prices and greater optimism over a deal to renegotiate Greece's debt.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 305.36 points (1.76 percent) to  17,666.40.
The broad-based S&P 500 powered higher by 29.18 (1.44 percent) to 2,050.03, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 51.05 (1.09 percent) at 4,727.74.
US oil prices surged seven percent to the highest level of the year, adding some relief to markets that fear the steep drop in the commodity signals major global economic problems.
Greek officials are pushing the idea of debt swaps that would avoid the need for creditors to accept 'haircuts' on the country's 315-billion-euro ($361-billion) foreign debt. European equities jumped on hopes of a resolution.
Despite the market's sunny performance, some analysts were skeptical investors had banished fears about deflation in the eurozone and weak global growth.
"It's good to enjoy the rally while we can," said Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management. "But a lot of things that worry the market are still ahead of us."
Petroleum-linked stocks gained. Dow member Chevron surged 3.3 percent, while independent producer EOG Resources advanced 4.1 percent and oil-services giant Schlumberger rose 2.9 percent.
Large banks rose. Dow member JPMorgan Chase gained 2.3 percent, Bank of America rose 2.8 percent and Citigroup added 2.4 percent.
Twitter gained 6.2 percent after unveiling a new "promoted tweets" service to allow advertisers to reach people who are not on Twitter itself.
Staples soared 10.9 percent following a report in The Wall Street Journal that it is in advanced talks to combine with Office Depot. Office Depot bolted 21.5 percent higher.
General Motors gained 2.6 percent and Ford Motor tacked on 2.5 percent as both companies reported large jumps in US auto sales in January.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.78 percent from 1.67 percent Monday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.37 percent from 2.25 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.