New York, Jan 5th (TradersHuddle.com) – Ford (NYSE:F) shares were soaring 8.27% to $11.14, posting the second best percentage gain in the S&P 500.

Ford (NYSE:F), the only U.S. automaker that did not received any government bailout funds, easily outpaced industry expectations after the company reported December sales that jumped an adjusted 23.3%.

The sales gain allowed Ford to end 2009 on an upswing. Ford said it sold a total of 184,655 vehicles last month, up from 139,067 in the same month last year.

The company said that last year it posted its first full-year market share gain since 1995, with December also marking the 14th time in 15 months that Ford increased retail market share.