Stock market has its biggest gain in two months

U.S. stock markets had their biggest gain in two months as better-than-expected results from Intel Corp. (INTC) trumped lingering concerns about the economic recovery being slow and weak.

The S&P 500 added 2.7 percent to 930.61 to what Bloomberg News called its biggest three-day advance since April. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 241.53 points, or 2.9 percent, to 8,601.02.

Gains from Intel also pushed up other large-cap tech companies including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Google Inc. (GOOG) and Intel's struggling rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) in regular trading. Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) lead oil stocks higher after a report showed a bigger-than-expected decline in supply. Even a Consumer Price Index (CPI), which showed the biggest gain in June since last summer, did not slow the market down.

The optimism seems contagious.