NEW YORK, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in technology shares and comments from a senior Federal Reserve official downplaying the necessity of an immediate interest rate increase.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 295.07 points, or 0.56 percent, to 53,061.95. The S&P 500 added 35.13 points, or 0.46 percent, to 7,666.6. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 118.05 points, or 0.45 percent, to 26,217.83.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the green, with materials and communication services leading the gainers by going up 1.53 percent and 1.16 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, real estate bucked the trend by dropping 0.79 percent.
Market sentiment found support after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said in a CNBC interview that there are currently no clear indications requiring an interest rate hike at the central bank's upcoming September meeting to contain inflation.
Williams also noted that the recent rise in government bond yields reflects underlying economic strength rather than escalating inflation expectations. U.S. Treasury yields held near multi-year highs on Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year yield holding at 4.78 percent and the 30-year bond yield steady at 5.26 percent.
On the macroeconomic front, payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday that U.S. private sector employment grew by 38,000 jobs in August, falling short of market forecasts of 47,000 positions. The modest hiring figures provided a softer prelude to the Labor Department's comprehensive nonfarm payrolls report scheduled for Friday.
In corporate developments, mega-cap technology equities advanced, led by Nvidia and Meta Platforms, which gained 3.21 percent and 2.47 percent, respectively. Dell Technologies surged almost 16 percent to pace the S&P 500 following strong quarterly results, while software developer GitLab jumped nearly 10 percent.
Conversely, database provider MongoDB sank 13.54 percent and cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks dropped 9.28 percent after their respective financial disclosures. Post-bell earnings focus turned toward reports from Broadcom, Snowflake, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and discount retailer Five Below.
In other company news, shares of energy major Chevron rose modestly after it announced plans to expand its operations in Venezuela. Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies added 1.61 percent after revealing workforce reduction plans affecting approximately 10 percent of its employees.
