The Nasdaq jumped 290.79 points (1.3%) to 22,807.48, the S&P 500 advanced 52.87 points (0.8%) to 6,869.50 and the Dow climbed 238.14 points (0.5%) to 48,739.41.
Wall Street's strength continued as traders bought stocks at reduced levels following Tuesday's sell-off, which pushed major averages to three-month lows. Positive sentiment also stemmed from upbeat U.S. economic data, including ADP's report showing private sector employment rose by 63,000 jobs in February—surpassing expectations of 48,000—after a revised 11,000 in January.
A separate ISM report revealed U.S. service sector activity unexpectedly accelerated, with its PMI climbing to 56.1 in February from 53.8 in January, beating forecasts of 53.6 and marking the highest since July 2022. Early buying was fueled by lower crude oil prices, though stocks held firm even as oil prices rebounded.
Telecom stocks moved sharply higher, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 2.2%. Networking stocks displayed significant strength as reflected by the 2.2% jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index. Semiconductor, biotechnology and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Asia-Pacific stocks continued to move sharply lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 3.6% while South Korea's Kospi saw a 12.1% nosedive. Meanwhile, the major European markets moved back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.7%, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both advanced by 0.8%.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the downward move seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.4 bps to 4.08%.