WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks turned in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Wednesday before once again coming under pressure late in the session.
The major averages showed a notable pullback in the final hour of trading but managed to end the day in positive territory.
The Nasdaq advanced 151.16 points or 0.7 percent to 23,499.80, the Dow climbed 225.76 points or 0.5 percent to 47,311.00 and the S&P 500 rose 24.74 points or 0.4 percent to 6,796.29.
The strength for most of the day came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the steep drop on Tuesday, which partly reflected concerns about valuations.
Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment in the U.S. rebounded by more than expected in the month of October.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 42,000 jobs in October after slipping by a revised 29,000 jobs in September.
Economists had expected private sector employment to rise by 25,000 jobs compared to the loss of 32,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Institute for Supply Management also released a report showing U.S. service sector activity returned to expansion in the month of October.
The ISM said its services PMI climbed to 52.4 in October after falling to 50.0 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 50.8.
With the bigger than expected increase, the services PMI reached its highest level since hitting 53.5 in February.
Sector News
Despite the late-day pullback by the broader markets, airline stocks continued to see substantial strength, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 5.8 percent.
Considerable strength also remained visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 3.1 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively.
Gold stocks also turned in a strong performance amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, while housing and software stocks moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 2.5 percent, while south Korea's Kospi dove by 2.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries came under pressure in reaction to the latest U.S. economic data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 6.8 basis points to a one-month closing high of 4.157 percent.
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