Optimism that a debt deal would soon be reached sent the markets soaring to a sharply higher close with the Dow leaping 323 points to 15,126. Nasdaq jumped 82 points to 3760.

On the upside

Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq: HBAN) will acquire Camco Financial (Nasdaq: CAFI) in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $97 million.

Vonage Holdings (NYSE: VG) will pay approximately $130 million in cash and stock to acquire Vocalocity.

Shares of Stonegate Mortgage (NYSE: SGM) surged on its first trading day.

On the downside

Barclays, Chardan Capital Markets, Citigroup and Summer Street Research all downgraded Ariad Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARIA) while Leerink slashed its price target from $28 to $9. 

A Seeking Alpha contributor wrote that Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) would continue falling until it was worthless.

The Buckle (NYSE: BKE) reported an unexpected drop of 4.5% in September same store sales.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 6 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 36 points to 1692.