Stocks are rallying on Thursday, with the Nasdaq pushing back above its all-time closing high hit back in March 2000. But after opening lower and doing nothing for the first couple hours of trading, stocks rocketed higher near noon and haven't looked back since. There was no obvious reason for the surge, but then again so many moves in markets don't have a single obvious catalyst. Via Rich Barry, floor governor at the NYSE, here's what traders are saying on Thursday about the big pop in stocks: ** Market Alert: we are on the verge of finally breaking out of a trading range we have been stuck in in all year — and to the upside!! Stocks actually opened to the downside this morning. Then, just before the crack of noon, we saw the S&P 500 spike from -2 to +8 handles in a half a nano-second. We immediately turned to the resident guru and CNBC superstar for some color. "Looks like the move was triggered by algorithmic short-covering and trend-joining, turning the move into a mini-spike. Some claim it was a vague undefinable rumor of a breakthrough on Greece but I think spontaneous combustion, (a higher high), was the trigger." Whew... Here's the quick move in the S&P 500: And the rally to record highs in the Nasdaq: Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what it takes to be President Obama's right-hand man
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