U.S. stocks had their biggest gain in four weeks as investors were encouraged by corporate deal news and new signals suggesting that the Federal Reserve is ready to begin to raise interest rates next month. The gain pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index back into positive territory for the year.
For Wednesday:
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 247.66 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 17,737.16.
The S&P 500 index gained 33.14 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 2,083.58.
The Nasdaq composite index added 89.19 points, or 1.8 per cent, to 5,075.20.
For the week:
The Dow is up 491.92 points, or 2.9 per cent.
The S&P is up 60.54 points, or 3 per cent.
The Nasdaq is up 147.32 points, or 3 per cent.
For the year:
The Dow is down 85.91 points, or 0.5 per cent.
The S&P is up 24.68 points, or 1.2 per cent.
The Nasdaq is up 339.15 points, or 7.2 per cent.
