TECH STOCKS: All Boats Rise In A Storm SurgeTECH STOCKS: All Boats Rise In A Storm Surge

Buoyed by reports that show economic momentum, all of our stock indexes surged more than 1% Thursday. The gains came despite news that New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso resigned late Wednesday over the controversy surrounding his multimillion-dollar compensation package. Thursday's close marked a 15-month high for the Dow Jones and an 18-month high-water mark for the Nasdaq.

The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4% in August, the fourth monthly increase in a row. The number of Americans filing new jobless claims fell to 399,000 last week, far below the 410,000 claims economists expected.

Microsoft shares rose more than 3% Thursday after the software company said it will expand the size of its board from eight members to 10. Motorola's stock rose 4% after Bancorp Piper Jaffray upgraded its outlook for the company. Hewlett-Packard's stock also rose 3%. Chip stocks overall were up despite a forecast from Goldman Sachs that shares of companies that sell chipmaking equipment may be due for a correction.

The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock (QQQ) closed at $34.79, up 53 cents, or 1.55%. The tracking stock's trading volume was relatively heavy, with more than 90 million shares changing hands.

Our information 100 rose 4.34 points, or 1.5%, to close at 293.41 Thursday, while the Nasdaq index rose 26.45 points, or 1.4%, to finish the day at 1,909.55. The Dow rose 113.48 points, or 1.2%, to close at 9,659.13, while the S&P 500 rose 13.61 points, or 1.3%, to finish the day at 1,039.58.