TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Thursday

Led higher by the financials - and by falling prices for crude oil - stocks soared on Wednesday.

The Dow ended the day up 276.74. The Nasdaq Composite closed ahead by 69.14. And the S&P 500 finished up 30.45.

Here are 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Thursday.

Soaring higher by more than 12% on Wednesday, shares of Altera Corporation (ALTR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) responded positively to the company's second quarter earnings, which beat analyst estimates by $0.05.

Announcing earnings Thursday before the market opens, Coca Cola (KO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) is expected to report EPS of $0.96. The stock was up 1% on the day.

Declining advertising sales were among the factors cited by Gannett Company (GCI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) for its fall-off in quarterly profits. The stock was lower by 4% on Wednesday.

Nucor (NUE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reports earnings Thursday before the bell, with analysts expecting earnings per share of $1.80. Shares were higher by 5% in advance of the earnings report.

St. Jude Medical Corporation (STJ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed up by more than 7% on Wednesday, beating earnings estimates as it reported a near 50% increase in profits.

Analysts are expecting earnings per share of $0.32 when TD Ameritrade (AMTD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reports Thursday morning before the market opens. AMTD closed higher by more than 11% on Wednesday.

Wells Fargo (WFC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) surprised analysts Wednesday by beating earnings estimates by $0.03 and announcing a dividend increase. The stock ended the day higher by more than 32%.

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