Stocks higher

Stocks kicked off the day with a bang.

The major indices were up nicely at the open with earnings in the spotlight.

But after hitting highs of the year, stocks pulled back.

After moving sideways there was a dip in the afternoon. With 30 minutes left in the day, the S&P even dipped into negative territory.

Then another push higher into the close helped the major indices end the day with gains.

Leading the major indices, the NASDAQ closed above 8,000 for the first time since October 1st.

Here's where the major indices ended the day:

• The S&P finished with a 0.1% gain. Up a point, the S&P ended at 2,907.
• The DOW ended higher by 0.3%. Adding 68 points, the DOW closed at 26,453.
• The NASDAQ was up 0.3%. With a 24 point gain, the NASDAQ finished at 8,000.

Crude Oil (CL) bounced back after yesterday's drop. Up 1.0%, CL ended at $64.00 a barrel.

Bank of America (BAC) was all over the place after beating earnings expectations. But an unexpected decline in interest income sent the stock lower by as much as 2.8%. BAC finished the day with a 0.1% gain.

BlackRock (BLK) jumped on better than expected numbers and ended the session with a 3.3% gain. Progressive (PGR) was another earnings beat, up 6.9% on the day.

Apple (AAPL) and Qualcomm (QCOM) made headlines after settling a royalty dispute. AAPL was pretty much unchanged. But QCOM rallied 23.2%.

There was good news for Boeing (BA) today.

The FAA announced that the Boeing 737 MAX software is "operationally suitable". The Stock was up 2% after the news and finished the day with a 1.7% gain.

Netflix (NFLX) will be in the spotlight tomorrow. The company reported disappointing guidance but strong subscriber growth in an earnings call after today's bell. In after-hours trading, the stock was down as much as 9.3%.