With all the excitement about the Dow, you could almost be forgiven for forgetting that the Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC) was invited to the party, too. Wednesday saw a steep rise for the index, and although Thursday's trading took a more conservative turn, the sentiment remained the same. F5 Networks was your leader at the final bell with a performance that outpaced the nearest rivals by a respectable margin. Things were a little dimmer for First Solar, which finished the day in everyone else's shadow.

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Positive economic news out of the both U.S. and Europe drove today's earnings, fueling hope for a continued run to close out the week.

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