Stocks closed with huge gains as drop in oil prices boosted sectors previously battered by energy costs. Financials also moved sharply higher.

Stocks pushed higher as oil plunged for the second day in a row and financials staged an across-the-board rally that stemmed investor pessimism about the effects of inflation on the economy.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index or the VIX, Wall Street's main barometer of investor fear, shot up on Friday as many anxious players sought options to guard their portfolios.

It was another wild trading day of ups and downs but stocks ran to the finish line and pulled off a decent gain as oil dropped more than $5 a barrel.

Stocks wavered in another volatile trading session Tuesday as existing-home sales fell more than expected, oil dropped $5 and Alcoa dragged on the Dow. Comments from Bernanke and a $2 drop in oil prices offered the market some support.

Stocks wavered in another volatile trading session Tuesday as existing-home sales fell more than expected, oil dropped $5 and Alcoa dragged on the Dow. Comments from Bernanke and a $2 drop in oil prices offered the market some support.

Stocks wobbled Tuesday after a report showed existing-home sales fell more than expected in May. Comments from Bernanke and a $2 drop in oil prices offered the market some support.

The options market is getting excited about an ethanol producer and dental technology, according to one expert.

Exxon Mobil is due to report earnings Thursday; Chevron will report Friday. How should investors play the oil bigs? Rebecca Darst of Interactive Brokers told CNBC that one key is to watch options trading.

Options, food inflation and -- believe it or not -- travel and leisure plays figured big in Monday's stock chatter on CNBC.

Options, food inflation and -- believe it or not -- travel and leisure plays figured big in Monday's stock chatter on CNBC.

Heavy betting on Visa, churn in Yahoo, and perhaps some misguided faith in oil majors ... that's the trend in options, says Rebecca Darst of Interactive Brokers.

The options market can provide clues to future stock movements. Rebecca Darst, equity options analyst at Interactive Brokers, told CNBC on Tuesday what the options market is saying about companies that are set to report this week.

MF Global, the futures and options broker whose shares surged today, is considering financing options including a sale of a minority stake, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Thursday.

Toll Brothers reported a first-quarter loss Wednesday: the homebuilder announced a huge jump in write-downs on properties it could no longer sell profitably; and its sales fell 23 percent. So why did the company’s stock climb as much as 2.21 percent Wednesday? Thank the  Office of Federal Housing Enterprises Oversight and Lehman Brothers.