Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose sharply extending a rally from the previous session, as equities on Wall Street continued to erase losses from last week's Brexit decision, providing optimism that markets are ready to stabilize from the unexpected shock.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 284.96 or 1.64% to 17,694.68, finishing with its strongest session since March 1. After tumbling more than 850 points in the first two sessions following the Brexit victory, the Dow has rallied more than 3% since the start of Tuesday's session. The S&P 500 Composite rose 87.38 or 1.86% to 4,779.25, completing its strongest two-day rally since February. On the S&P 500, all 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Energy and Financials sector led. In total, nine industries closed higher by at least 1%. The NASDAQ Composite Index, meanwhile, jumped 34.68 or 1.70% to 2,070.77, as travel and airline stocks continued their recovery from the Brexit-inspired sell-off.
The top performer on the Dow was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which surged 1.89 or 3.56% to 54.98. It came one day after the athletic apparel giant narrowly topped quarterly earnings forecasts, while sales in Western Europe and China jumped by at least 18%. Nike (NYSE:NKE) shares stage a reversal on Wednesday, one day after falling 6% in after-hours after the Beaverton, Oregon company missed analysts revenue forecasts of $4.01 billion for the quarter. Still, analysts focused more intently on Nike's future orders last quarter in China, which surged 24% in the key growth segment. The worst performer was Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which inched down 0.22 or 0.17 to 127.31. Home Depot (NYSE:HD) finished as the only Dow component to close in the red.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX), which added 1.43 or 6.32% to 23.96. The data storage company received a boost from analysts at RBC Capital Markets on Wednesday, which increased its fourth quarter earnings outlook amid indications of an improved market for hard disk drives. The worst performer was Endo International, which fell 0.26 or 1.61% to 15.93, erasing some of its gains from a strong performance over the previous session. Over the last year, shares in the specialty drugmaker have plummeted more than 80% due primarily to industry-wide pricing concerns.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK), which surged 3.67 or 6.53% to 59.90, after crude futures surged by 4% amid a massive supply draw in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. At one point, shares in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) both hit 52-year highs. The worst performer was Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN), which fell 0.86 or 6.19% to 13.03.
The SPDR XLF Financial Sector ETF closed at 22.50, up 2.27%, ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) after the bell. In after-hours trade, XLF was virtually flat after the Fed announced that 30 of 33 banks passed its annual comprehensive stress test. As part of its findings, the Fed is requiring Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to resubmit their capital plan by the end of the year, while objecting to Santander (MC:SAN) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn)'s trust plans.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,620-441 margin.