After showing a lack of direction in early trading, stocks showed a strong upward move over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The markets benefited from an increase in commodities prices as well as upbeat earnings news from Dell (DELL).
The major averages closed firmly in positive territory, near their best levels of the day. The Dow advanced 80.60 points or 0.7 percent to 12,560.18, the Nasdaq jumped 31.79 points or 1.1 percent to 2,815.00 and the S&P 500 climbed 11.70 points or 0.9 percent to 1,340.68.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street was due in large part to a rally by commodities prices, with energy stocks helping to lead the way higher as the price of crude oil surged up $3.19 to $100.10 a barrel.
The increase by the price of crude oil was partly due to the release of a report from the Energy Department showing an unexpected decrease in crude oil inventories.
The report showed that crude oil inventories edged down by 15,000 barrels in the week ended May 13th compared to analyst estimates for an increase of about 1 million barrels. Distillate fuel inventories also fell by 1.2 million barrels, while gasoline inventories rose by 119,000 barrels.
Buying interest was also generated by a positive reaction to quarterly results and guidance from computer giant Dell (DELL). Shares of Dell rose by 5.4 percent to their best closing level in a year.
The gain by Dell came after the company reported first quarter adjusted earnings of $0.55 per share, well above analyst estimates for earnings of $0.44 per share. However, the company also reported revenues of $15.02 billion, shy of the consensus estimate of $15.41 billion.
Looking ahead, Dell forecast full year revenue growth of 5 to 9 percent and adjusted earnings growth of 12 to 18 percent. Analysts currently estimate 5 percent revenue growth for the year.
Stocks saw continued strength in the afternoon as traders digested the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that Fed officials held extensive discussions about the strategy for exiting from the ultra-accommodative monetary policy that has supported the U.S economy.
At the conclusion of the two-day meeting in April, the Fed voted to continue its $600 billion asset purchase program and maintain near-zero interest rates, a move that was in line with market expectations.
However, according to the minutes, there were signs of division among members about when to scale back unprecedented support measures.
Sector News
Within the energy sector, oil service stocks turned in some of the best performances, resulting in a 2.6 percent gain by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The gain lifted the index well off the nearly four-month closing low that it set on Tuesday.
Global Industries (GLBL) helped to lead the oil service sector higher, advancing by 6.9 percent, while Rowan (RDC) and Nabors Industries (NBR) also posted strong gains.
Electronic storage stocks also showed significant upward moves, driving the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index up by 3 percent. With the gain, the index bounced off Tuesday's nearly two-month closing low.
Most of the other major sectors also moved to the upside on the day, with considerable strength visible among health insurance, semiconductor, and transportation stocks.
On the other hand, utilities and airline stocks saw modest weakness on the day, with the weakness in the airline sector reflecting worries about higher fuel costs.
Dow Components
A majority of the thirty Dow components ended the day in positive territory, contributing to the gain posted by the blue chip index.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) turned in two of the Dow's best performances, with the oil giants closing up by 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Shares of Caterpillar (CAT) also showed a strong upward move, advancing by 3.1 percent. With the gain, the construction equipment maker rebounded from yesterday's two-month closing low.
Intel (INTC), DuPont (DD), and Alcoa (AA) were among the other Dow components that posted strong gains on the day. Notably, shares of Intel rose to their best closing level in over a year.
Meanwhile, shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) extended the downward move seen on Tuesday in reaction to its disappointing guidance. HP fell by 1.1 percent to a nearly two-year closing low.
Bank of America (BAC) also posted a notable loss, with the banking giant falling by 0.9 percent to its lowest closing level in over five months.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher on Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.5 percent.
The major European markets also showed strong moves the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced by 1.1 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index closed up by 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries saw considerable weakness, pulling back off yesterday's highs. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 5 basis points to 3.171 percent after ending Tuesday's trading at a five-month closing low.
Looking ahead
Following today's light economic calendar, economic data is likely to be in focus on Thursday, with traders likely to keep a close eye on reports on jobless claims, existing home sales, and Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.