US STOCKS-Economic optimism boosts stocks; Nasdaq up on year

                                
 * Best Buy jumps on results; retailers rally
                                
 * Nasdaq turns positive on the year as techs drive
                                
 * Final Q4 GDP, weekly jobless claims data roughly in line
                                
 * Dow up 2.3 pct, S&P up 2.3 pct, Nasdaq up 3.8 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates with volume data)
                                
 By Edward Krudy
                                
 NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied for a
second straight day on Thursday, taking the Nasdaq back into
positive territory for the year-to-date, on increasing optimism
that the economy's worst days are behind after the government
reported data that was less dire than expected.
                                
 Electronics retailer Best Buy <BBY.N> reported results and
an outlook that topped market estimates, reinforcing views of
rising consumer demand and driving up other retailers. Best Buy
shares rose 12.6 percent.
                                
 Big cap technology stocks pushed the Nasdaq into positive
territory for the year, after Goldman Sachs recommended that
investors buy shares of Research in Motion Ltd <RIMM.O>
<RIM.TO> ,citing strength in the consumer business of the
BlackBerry maker.
                                
 Leading discount retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> was
among the top boosts on the Dow, rising more than 2 percent to
$52.76, while the S&P retail index <.RLX> gained 4.4 percent.
                                
 "Obviously the tide is shifting. We've gone from every
piece of news being incrementally bad to not as bad as
expectations," said Stephanie Giroux, chief investment
strategist at TD Ameritrade in Jersey City, New Jersey. "The
fact that collectively we are starting to see things less
negative is very significant."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> jumped 174.75
points, or 2.25 percent, to 7,924.56. The Standard & Poor's 500
Index <.SPX> spiked 18.98 points, or 2.33 percent, to 832.86.
The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> surged 58.05 points, or 3.80
percent, to 1,587.00.
                                
 Coupled with earlier data on housing and durable goods this
week that showed signs of life in the economy, investors bet on
an improving outlook, taking the S&P 500 up 23.1 percent since
it hit a 12-year low on March 9.
                                
 At the current pace, the S&P 500 could have its biggest
monthly gain in 22 years.
                                
 Stocks rose even as government data showed the U.S. economy
contracted at its fastest pace since 1982 in the fourth
quarter, but the decline was slightly less than expected.
Corporate profits in the fourth quarter plunged by the biggest
margin since 1994. The number of workers collecting state
unemployment benefits rose to a record high in the latest
week.
                                
 Two of the worst performers this year, homebuilder and bank
stocks, extended gains on Thursday. The Dow Jones homebuilders
index <.DJUSHB> rose 7.0 percent. Luxury homebuilder Toll
Brothers Inc <TOL.N> rose 4.3 percent to $19.96, while D.R.
Horton Inc <DHI.N> , the biggest U.S. homebuilder, jumped 8.7
percent to $10.93.
                                
 The S&P's technology index <.GSPT> and the materials index
<.GSPM> both finished higher and are now positive for the year
to date.
                                
 Shares of natural resources companies rose along with
higher commodity prices on Thursday. Shares of steel maker
Nucor <NUE.N> rose over 5 percent to $41.09 and U.S. Steel Corp
<X.N> was up 5.4 percent to $24.74.
                                
 Investors were relieved to see fair demand for new supply
of $24 billion of U.S. government debt after a poor auction a
day earlier raised fears the government would have trouble
funding its plans to help the economy recover.
                                
 On Nasdaq shares of Apple, maker of the iPhone, jumped 3.2
percent to $109.87.
                                
 Goldman Sachs reiterated its "buy" rating on Research In
Motion Ltd <RIMM.O> <RIM.TO> , saying it expects the company to
post fourth-quarter results in line with Wall Street's
expectations. The stock jumped 4.9 percent to $45.04.
                                
 The semiconductor index <.SOXX> rose 6 percent.
                                
 Trading was active on the New York Stock Exchange, with
about 1.81 billion shares changing hands, above last year's
estimated daily average of 1.49 billion, while on Nasdaq, about
2.56 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of
2.28 billion.
                                
 Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
2,435 to 615 while advancers beat decliners on the Nasdaq by
about 2,206 to 509.
 (Editing by Leslie Adler)