Goldman's stock soars toward best post-earnings rally in 7 years, and into bull-market territory

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. soared 6.0% in morning trade, putting them on track for the best one-day post-earnings performance in seven years and to enter a new bull market, after the broker reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue beats. On the days of the previous 28 quarterly reports back to Jan. 18, 2012, when the stock rose 6.8% after fourth-quarter 2011 results were reported, the stock has gained just nine times and declined 19 times. The average gain has been 2.6% and the average loss has been 1.6%, with the median move a 0.8% decline. The stock, which was on track to close at the highest level since Dec. 3, has now run up 22.0% since closing at a 2 1/2-year low of $156.35 on Dec. 24. Many on Wall Street define a bull market as a gain of 20% or more from a bear-market trough. Separately, the stock's price gain of $10.79 was adding about 73 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average's price, which was up 106 points. Goldman's stock was still down 14% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 6.3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.