U.S. markets closed higher on Wednesday, supported by strong corporate results that reinforced investor optimism about the growth potential of artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, traders assessed the latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which showed that crude oil inventories continued to decline in the week ended October 16. The report said crude oil inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels last week after tumbling by 8.6 million barrels in the previous week. Street had expected crude oil inventories to dip by 0.8 million barrels. Investors were focused on earnings reports released on Thursday by major companies, including Procter & Gamble, Western Digital, and Lockheed Martin, for fresh insights into corporate performance and broader market trends.
On the sectoral front, Computer hardware saw substantial strength on the Super Micro Computer news, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 2.5 percent. Significant strength was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by 360.21 points or 0.69 percent to 52,856.09, Nasdaq increased by 278.04 points or 1.05 percent to 26,702.85 and S&P 500 gained by 44.6 points or 0.58 percent to 7,757.17.