NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday after the previous day's decline, buoyed by strong earning reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337.28 points, or 0.79 percent, to 43,077.7. The S&P 500 added 27.21 points, or 0.47 percent, to 5,842.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 51.49 points, or 0.28 percent, to 18,367.08.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with utilities and financials leading the gainers by going up 2.03 percent and 1.22 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and consumer staples led the laggards by dropping 0.37 percent and 0.21 percent, respectively.
With about 50 S&P 500 companies reporting so far, 79 percent have surpassed expectations, according to FactSet. Despite market volatility, research firm CFRA's chief investment strategist, Sam Stovall, remains optimistic about equities rising in the near term, especially following September's rally.
"Usually Septembers of election years are negative. However, if they're positive, then that also implies a positive October, as compared with the more normal negative October," he said. "In the final two months of election years the market has risen almost every time with all sizes, styles and sectors posting positive returns. So investors are very much aware that the momentum is behind the market."
In a note to clients, UBS also highlighted that S&P 500 returns over the three, six, and 12 months following a market high have historically been similar to other periods. The firm remained optimistic about the macroeconomic and earnings outlook, suggesting that the environment will continue to support equities.
On the corporate front, Morgan Stanley saw its shares jump 6.5 percent after exceeding Wall Street's expectations for both third-quarter earnings and revenue.
United Airlines also reported better-than-anticipated results, driving its stock up by 12.44 percent as it projected strong performance for the last quarter of 2024.
