Investing.com - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after Internet giant Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations and ended a selloff in the tech sector, while an upbeat U.S. industrial production barometer bolstered share prices as well.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 rose 1.00%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.05%, while the Nasdaqindex rose 1.29%.
Yahoo earned $312 million, or $0.29 cents per share, during the first quarter of this year, while revenue came to $1.13 billion, both figures beating analysts' expectations.
Chinese portal Alibaba, in which Yahoo owns a 24% stake, saw sales soar 66% in the fourth quarter of 2013 on year, while earnings shot up 110%, which sent Yahoo and other tech shares climbing.
Recent sessions saw tech companies plunge on sentiments that valuations have grown too frothy during a five-year bull market.
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech earlier that monetary authorities hope to see the unemployment rate at the end of 2016 reaching 5.2-5.6% and inflation at 1.7-2%, adding interest rates will stay low even as the economy improves before then to ensure maximum price and employment stability.
Elsewhere, U.S. industrial production rose 0.7% in March from February, beating expectations for a 0.5% reading, which supported stocks despite soft housing data.
The Commerce Department reported earlier that housing starts rose 2.8% in March to 946,000, missing analyst forecasts for a 6.4% increase to 973,000 units.
Separately, building permits, an indicator of future demand for housing, fell 2.4% in March to 990,000, defying market expectations for a 0.6% increase.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Visa Inc (NYSE:V), up 2.65%, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), up 1.99%, and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), up 1.93%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), down 1.69%, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), down 0.47%, and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), down 0.35%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 1.48%, France's CAC 40 rose 1.39%, while Germany's DAX rose 1.57%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.65%.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to publish data on initial jobless claims and a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.