Dow Surges, Scores Third-Largest Point Gain Ever

What a difference 24 hours makes! After falling more than 500 points in the final hour of trade Tuesday, the Dow found its footing, took off running and scored its third-biggest point gain ever, closing higher by 619 points. This was the largest intraday point gain for the blue chip average in almost seven years.

Six Dow stocks have recovered all losses suffered during Monday and Tuesday's selloffs and are now higher for the week. These include Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Nike (NYSE:NKE), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), 3M (NYSE:MMM) and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS).

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also saw major gains Wednesday, with the S&P 500 climbing nearly 73 points as the Nasdaq rose 191 points. The day's rally has pulled both the S&P and Nasdaq out of correction territory.

Who missed out on the day's rock 'n' roll rally? Gold and oil. Gold fell for a third straight day to see its lowest settlement in more than a week, finishing down 1.2% to settle at $1,124.60 an ounce. Oil shed 1.8% to settle at $38.60 per barrel. This comes as gasoline futures dropped nearly 6% following the restart of BP's (NYSE:BP) refinery outside of Chicago.