Stocks held onto big gains by the midway mark of the session, boosted by government action in China to stem recent massive market declines. The move was having a positive impact on China based, U.S.-listed stocks. Chinese search engine Baidu (BIDU), casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment (MPEL), and the largest of China-based stocks, Alibaba (BABA), surged. Crude oil prices rallied as global markets surged on the rebound in China’s Shanghai Composite. Oil recovered a position above $52 a barrel, while major oilers including Chevron (CVX), BP (BP) and Shell (RDS.A) surged. Good news out of China was enough for investors to largely overlook a downgrade in growth expectations from the IMF. The body now expects global growth of 3.3% over 2015.
