YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Blue chips managed modest gains amid a bevy of better-than-expected earnings, but the results acted as a positive catalyst for the broader market, which settled with a strong gain.

The S&P 500 extended its rebound from the prior session so that it is now less than 1% below the 52-week high that it tumbled from late last week. Its strength in the latest session was broad based with all 10 major sectors booking gains.

Broader market strength coupled with a 0.9% increase in crude oil prices to $83.91 per barrel to take energy stocks to a 1.9% gain. That was the best of the major indices.

Financials were next in line. The sector settled 1.3% higher with regional banks up 3.5% following better-than-expected bottom line results from Marshal & Isley (MI 9.31, +0.90), Regions Financial (RF 8.80, +0.47), and Zions Bank (ZION 27.42, +1.99).

Goldman Sachs (GS 159.98, -3.34) reported an upside earnings surprise of its own on the heels of fraud charges by the SEC. As for the latter matter, Britain's financial regulator started a formal enforcement investigation into the firm.

IBM (IBM 129.69, -2.54) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 65.99, -0.04) also bested Wall Street's expectations for the latest quarter, but a lowered forecast from Johnson & Johnson and dissatisfaction with IBM's margins dampened enthusiasm over the reports.

Market participants also showed little interest in upbeat earnings from Coca-Cola (KO 54.47, -0.85) and a dividend hike from Procter & Gamble (PG 63.19, -0.03). Their subsequent weakness hampered the consumer staples sector, which closed just 0.1% for the better.

Commodities advanced nearly 1% this session.

The move to the upside was led by grains. July wheat futures rose 4%. July Corn futures rose over 2%.

Meanwhile, the energy complex traded about 1% higher this session. June crude oil closed 0.9% higher at $83.91 per barrel. June natural gas futures closed 0.8% higher at $3.97 per MMBtu. June gasoline and heating oil futures closed about 1% higher.

Gold and silver futures ended higher this session despite the mild strength in the dollar index. June gold closed 0.3% higher at $1139.20 per ounce; May silver closed 0.5% higher at $17.82 per ounce.

Still, buying in the broader market was impressive as stocks climbed for the eighth time in nine sessions and the Volatility Index dropped by 9.3%. The VIX is now just 3% above the multiyear low that it hit last week.

Advancing Sectors: Energy (+1.9%), Financials (+1.3%), Utilities (+1.1%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.1%), Industrials (+0.7%), Telecom (+0.7%), Tech (+0.4%), Health Care (+0.3%), Materials (+0.2%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: (None) DJ30 +25.01 NASDAQ +20.20 NQ100 +0.5% R2K +1.4% SP400 +1.3% SP500 +9.65 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2045/2.08 bln/651 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2499/1.13 bln/556