NEW YORK, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 288.75 points, or 0.6 percent, to 48,731.16. The S&P 500 added 22.26 points, or 0.32 percent, to 6,932.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 51.47 points, or 0.22 percent, to 23,613.31.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with consumer staples and real estate leading the gainers by going up 0.79 percent and 0.67 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy bucked the trend by going down 0.33 percent.
