Stocks blast off after Wells Fargo's rosy Q1 outlook

With all eyes on the financial sector these days, the market's reaction to an extremely upbeat early look at first-quarter earnings from Wells Fargo (WFC) was hardly a surprise. With banks in the lead, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 3.14 percent, or 246 points, to close at 8,038.

Bank of America (BAC) gained the most of any of the Dow's 30 component stocks, rising more than 35 percent to close close to $10 for the first time since early January. Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were also among the Dow's best performers. Wal-Mart (WMT) was the DJIA's biggest loser and just one of just three Dow stocks that lost ground after releasing disappointing retail sales figures.