Almost as if it didn't happen, yesterday's late day selloff was negated today with a triple-digit DJIA gain ahead of Friday's key jobs data. Yesterday's late day sell off was not repeated today.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,249.54 +225.52 (2.25%)
S&P 500 1,098.38 +27.67 (2.58%)
Nasdaq 2,281.07 +58.74 (2.64%)

Top Analyst Calls

"Happy New Year. No, I'm not seven weeks late. 1.3 billion Chinese are celebrating the biggest holiday of the year -- Chinese New Year," notes Tony Sagami.

The contributing editor to UnCommon Wisdom explains, "The Lunar New Year is considered to be a combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's all rolled into an elaborate celebration of reflection, gratitude, renewal and hope. It is the single most celebrated holiday in China.

Shanda Interactive (SNDA), an electronic media company based in China that distributes online games and other content, reported Q3 earnings on Tuesday after the bell. According to our earnings preview, analysts were expecting 88 cents per American Depositary Share (ADS). On a reported basis, 90 cents per ADS was recorded. On an adjusted basis, the business achieved $1.08 per ADS.

Shanda not only did well in terms of an earnings beat, but it grew the top line quite admirably. Gross margin, unfortunately, saw a dip on both a year-over-year and a sequential basis.

It's been reported that Canadian banks have fared better than their U.S. and European counterparts recently. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) did report strong fourth-quarter results last week. This week, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect competitor Royal Bank of Canada (RY) to post modest earnings growth as well, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) and Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) are expected to post earnings declines.

Analysts are looking for $0.98 per share (+6.1%) earnings from RBC, $1.25 per share (-7.4%) from Toronto Dominion and $1.36 per share (-21.8%) from Canadian Imperial. The long-term EPS growth forecast for these three banks is for ranges from 10% and 12%, which is in the same ballpark as U.S. rivals Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC). Earnings multiples for these Canadian banks are 10x to 12x, but only Toronto Dominion has a First Call consensus recommendation of buy. The Motley Fool, though, recently commented on Royal Bank's steady income and reliability. All three banks are trading near their 52-week highs, and shares of all are up well more than 100% since March lows.

"Shanda Interactive, a Chinese purveyor of interactive entertainment and media technology, offered U.S. investors a piece of its video game business, Shanda Games (NASDAQ: GAME)," notes Brandon Clay.

In his Invest with an Edge, he explains, "Shanda Games has its risks but also packs a lot of potential, especially as a speculative China play.

"GAME was one of the most widely-anticipated IPOs of 2009. The buzz surrounding Shanda Games was so intense that the company raised the offering from 63 million to 83.5 million shares just to meet demand.

One of the fastest growing sectors in the Chinese economy is online gaming, and, the leading player in the market is Shanda (NASDAQ: GAME).

With much investor anticipation, the company's shares hit the U.S. market today in a big-time IPO. The company priced 83.5 million shares at $12.50, making it a billion-dollar offering (the only one this year)

Shanda has a variety of games -- including 20 multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and 11 advanced casual games. In fact, there are plans to launch 16 more MMORPGS and eight advanced games.

After an excruciating dry spell, the IPO market is ready for lots of action this week. It looks like the equities markets are finally recovering from the financial implosion that began last September.

So, here's a look at some noteworthy deals:

A123 Systems: The company develops rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, allowing for cleaner and more efficient energy. As a testament to its technology, the company recently received a $249 million grant from the federal government. Marquee investors include General Electric (NYSE: GE), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Motorola (NYSE: MOT).

Back in April, Changyou.com (NASDAQ: CYOU) launched its IPO and since then the stock price is up an impressive 138%. The online gaming company is based in China.

Well, now investors will get another chance at a similar offering as Shanghai-based Shanda Games Limited has filed to go public.

Founded in 2001 -- as a division of Shanda Interactive Entertainment (NYSE: SNDA) -- Shanda Games is a big player in the fast-growing space of massively multi-player online role-playing games, or MMORPGs. In fact, the company has 18 such titles in its portfolio (as well as 11 advanced casual games).