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U.S. stocks ended higher for
the second straight session on Thursday, led by small-cap
stocks, while the Nasdaq climbed on a rally in biotech shares.

The surge in biotech stocks extended the recent trend of
volatile trading. Small-caps and the so-called momentum names in
the Internet and biotech spaces have recently echoed the broader
market's direction, but moved in an outsized fashion, often
without specific news.

Among momentum names, noted for high growth and perceptions
of excessive valuation, Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares
shot up 6 percent to $71.18, while Alexion Pharmaceuticals
rose 2.5 percent to $160.48. The Nasdaq biotechnology
index gained 1.9 percent. Shares of Salesforce.com
, the world's biggest maker of online sales software,
advanced 6.1 percent to $53.27.

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap shares rose 0.9
percent, outperforming the broader S&P 500. The Russell fell
into correction territory last week - defined as a 10 percent
decline from a recent closing high - but has since retraced some
of that, and is now less than 8 percent from its peak.

"Small-caps and momentum names are doing good today, but we
really need another solid gain in the overall market for those
high growth-oriented, high-risk stocks" to move away from the
day-to-day volatile trading, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment
officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York.

Hewlett-Packard Co posted a bigger-than-expected drop
of 1 percent in quarterly revenue as it struggled to maintain
its grip on a shrinking personal computer market while
protecting profit margins. The stock reversed earlier gains to
end down 2.3 percent at $31.78.

Housing stocks ranked among the market's biggest
outperformers, with the housing index up 1.2 percent
after existing home sales rebounded in April. Homebuilders were
among the S&P 500's biggest gainers, with D.R. Horton Inc
up 2.4 percent at $22.65 and PulteGroup Inc up
2.2 percent at $19.22.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.02 points or
0.06 percent, to end at 16,543.08. The S&P 500 gained
4.46 points or 0.24 percent, to 1,892.49. The Nasdaq Composite
added 22.81 points or 0.55 percent, to close at
4,154.34.

The S&P 500 is about 10 points away from its record intraday
high set on May 13. For the past week, the index has been caught
between the high and its 50-day moving average as data left
investors unsure about the pace of the economic recovery.

Shares of JD.Com soared in their market debut on
Thursday, jumping 10 percent to close at $20.90 after the
Chinese e-commerce company raised $1.78 billion in an initial
public offering.

Best Buy Co rose 3.4 percent to $26.22. The
electronics retailer reported first-quarter earnings that topped
expectations and domestic comparable-store sales that fell more
than expected.

U.S. existing home sales rose in April and the supply of
properties on the market hit the highest level since August
2012, hopeful signs for the housing market's stalled recovery.

About 5.1 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms,
according to BATS exchange data, below the month-to-date average
of 5.9 billion.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jan Paschal)