Strong earnings lifted the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow jumping 238 points to 24,322. Nasdaq leaped 114 points to 7118.

On the upside

Dallas Cowboys Football Club owner Jerry Jones made a substantial investment in Comstock Resources (NYSE: CRK).

Shares of Ceridian HCM Holding (NYSE: CDAY) leaped on its first trading day.

Mattersight. (NYSE: MATR) will be acquired by an affiliate of NICE.

On the downside

Essendant (Nasdaq: ESND) reported a loss for the first quarter as revenue slipped.

Anixter International (NYSE: AXE) reported higher first quarter earnings and revenue but the stock price plunged.

Shares of HRG Group (NYSE: HRG), which will merge with Spectrum Brands Holdings (NYSE: SPB), plunged after Spectrum Brands reported lower earnings that missed expectations.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 surged 27 points to 2,666. Bitcoin dropped $71 to $9,103.