Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday, propelled by a sharp rebound in crude oil prices to erase some of their losses from one session earlier during the third-worst day for major indices on the calendar year.
One day after crashing by nearly 3% on the session, U.S. equities rebounded amid strong gains in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares and a turnaround by oil in the middle of the session. As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite index each gained more than 1.75% on a bullish day of trading. Crude prices lost several dollars per barrel in the morning session after U.S. inventories posted its largest weekly build since April, before staging a dramatic comeback in the afternoon when a Reuters survey reported a draw in OPEC supply for the month of August.
The Dow gained 293.03 or 1.82% to close at 16,351.38, while the NASDAQ added 113.87 or 2.46% to 4,749.98, moving back near positive territory for the year. Volatility remained high, as the Dow posted its 10th triple-digit move in its last 11 sessions.
The S&P 500 Composite Index, meanwhile, added 35.01 or 1.83% to 1,948.86, as all 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Technology and Consumer Services led, each gaining at least 2% on the session.
Shares in Apple surged by more than 3% to 111.07 on Wednesday, after reports surfaced that the world's largest company will unveil its latest iPad model at a company event next week in San Francisco. Following the launch of its iPad Pro on Sept. 9, Apple will begin taking preorders in October and will start shipping a month later, 9to5Mac reported. Apple ended Wednesday's session as the top performer on the Dow. The worst performer was Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which fell 0.13 or 0.17% to 78.06. Only two of 30 Dow components closed in the red.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL), which added 2.10 or 5.36% to 41.30. Following two consecutive sessions of positive gains, shares in the major U.S. airliner are nearly flat on the year. The worst performer was Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR), which fell 2.34 or 3.36% to 67.31.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was H&R Block Inc (NYSE:HRB), which rose more than 7% on Wednesday after announcing a $3.5 billion share repurchase plan one session earlier after the bell. Shares in the world's largest tax services preparation company added 2.45 or 7.44% to 35.40. The worst performer was Ensco, which fell 0.90 or 5.27% to 16.19.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,319 to 821 margin.