Investing.com – Wall Street regained lost territory on Wednesday after a sharp drop in the prior session that led investors to wonder if the rally had come to an end, as market participants awaited the release of the Fed meeting minutes and watched as crude jumped higher on a surprise decline in U.S. oil inventories.
At 15:35GMT or 11:35AM ET, the Dow Jones gained 69 points, or 0.39%, while the S&P 500 advanced 12 points, or 0.61%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite traded up 43 points, or 0.90%.
In a light economic calendar day, investors will sift through the details of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed) when the minutes are released on Wednesday at 18:00GMT, or 14:00ET, searching for more details on the U.S. central bank’s position on the future path of rate hikes and hints on the degree of discord between hawkish and dovish officials.
Ahead of the release, Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester, one of the more hawkish members, will be giving a speech to the Cleveland Association of Business Economics at 16:20GMT, or 12:20ET.
St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard who was scheduled for a speech after the market close will also appear earlier, at 19:00GMT, or 15:00ET, in an interview with Bloomberg.
Similarly, Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan was also scheduled to give remarks after the market close.
All of the above before Fed chair Janet Yellen participates in a conversation with Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan and Paul Volker on Thursday.
Meanwhile, oil added to already sharp gains on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories fell by 4.9 million barrels in the week ended April 1, its first decline in eight weeks. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock rise of 3.2 million barrels.
The news came after a similar read from the American Petroleum Institute that said on Tuesday that crude oil stockpiles fell by 4.3 million barrels at the end of last week, surprising analysts who were looking for a build of 2.9 million barrels.
Crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 4.93% to $37.66 a barrel by 15:36GMT or 11:36AM ET, while Brent oil traded up 4.44% to $39.55.
In company news, Allergan Plc (NYSE:AGN) gained more than 4%, while Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) tacked on almost the same amount, following news that the drug-makers will mutually terminate their merger after changes in U.S. tax regulations dealt a death blow to the $160 billion deal.
Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes both gained 5.5% as the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit to block the merger of the number 2 and 3 oil services firms.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are in talks about taking a minority stake in HERE, a digital mapping business controlled by Germany's luxury carmakers to help develop self-driving cars, Daimler confirmed on Wednesday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) skyrocketed 18% as billionaire investor Bill Ackman said that the troubled drug maker could find a new CEO in just “weeks” .
Shares of Cree Inc (NASDAQ:CREE) tumbled almost 15% after the LED lighting company said it anticipated a loss in the third quarter due to lower commercial orders.
Monsanto (NYSE:MON) fell more than 1% as it missed earnings and revenue forecasts with its fiscal second quarter report.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) rose more than 4% after reporting fiscal fourth quarter earnings that beat consensus.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) and Apollo Education Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL) will report earnings after the close.