WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, partly offsetting the weakness seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.
The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 290.79 points or 1.3 percent to 22,807.48, the S&P 500 advanced 52.87 points or 0.8 percent to 6,869.50 and the Dow climbed 238.14 points or 0.5 percent to 48,739.41.
The strength on Wall Street comes as traders continued to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels after the early sell-off on Tuesday dragged the major averages down to their lowest levels in three months.
Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of February.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 63,000 jobs in February after rising by a downwardly revised 11,000 jobs in January.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 48,000 jobs compared to the addition of 22,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector activity in the U.S. unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in the month of February.
The ISM said its services PMI climbed to 56.1 in February from 53.8 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 53.6.
With the unexpected increase, the services PMI reached its highest level since hitting 56.5 in July of 2022.
While early buying interest was also generated in reaction to a pullback by the price of crude oil, stock saw continued strength even as the commodity moved to the upside.
Sector News
Telecom stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 2.2 percent.
Significant strength was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Semiconductor, biotechnology and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region continued to move sharply lower on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 3.6 percent, while South Korea's Kospi saw a 12.1 percent nosedive.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both advanced by 0.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.4 basis points to 4.080 percent.
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