Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose broadly on Wednesday, as a rally among health care stocks offset a sell-off in stocks in the technology stocks, led by a slight dip by shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average post solid gains on Wednesday for its fourth straight winning session, while the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index also pared losses from earlier in the day to close in positive territory. The Dow added 122.10 or 0.73% to close at 16,912.29, while the NASDAQ gained 42.79 or 0.90% to end Wednesday's session at 4,791.15.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, rose by 15.91 or 0.80% to 1,995.83, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led, each gaining at least 1% on the day. Stocks in the Telecommunications and Utilities industries lagged.
Investors await the release of the minutes from the Fed's September meeting on Thursday for further hints on whether the U.S. central bank could raise short-term interest rates before the end of the year. A rate-hike is viewed as bearish for U.S. equities, as investors unload their positions in stocks in favor of higher-yield bearing assets.
The top performer on the Dow was Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which gained 1.06 or 2.13% to 50.86 after its euro partner Euroscreen pledged to raise up to €16 million in support of the drug manufacturer's clinical trial aimed at treating female patients with uterine fibroids. The worst performer was Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which lost 1.07 or 0.87% to close at 122.12. Shares in Nike (NYSE:NKE) still remain near an all-time record high.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), which rose 3.96 or 5.84% to 71.81. The casino and entertainment conglomerate has seen its stock jump in recent days, following better than expected revenues at its Macau casino during China's Golden Week. The week-long holiday concludes on Wednesday. The worst performer was ADBE, which fell 4.35 or 5.11% to 80.80. On Tuesday, Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) announced that its Chief Information Officer Gerri Martin-Flickinger will be leaving to become the Chief Technology Officer at Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX). Within the industry, Martin-Flickinger received high marks for helping transform Adobe into a cloud-based company.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc (NYSE:FCX), which surged 1.10 or 9.30% to 12.93. Shares in the mining giant are still down by more than 65% this year, amid a prolonged downturn in global commodities. The worst performer was Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM), which plunged nearly 20% to 67.55, one day after lowering its full-year outlook for its China division. Yum, which derives more than half of its sales from China, anticipates that its same-restaurant sales in the country for the year will slump into negative territory after posting disappointing revenues during the third quarter.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,352-762 margin.