Major Averages Close At Their Best Levels Of The Day

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, further offsetting the steep losses posted late last week. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to the latest earnings news as well as remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen.

While most of the major sectors moved to the upside, airline stocks posted some particularly strong gains on the day. The NYSE Arca Airline Index surged up by 2.8 percent, climbing further off the one-month closing low that it set on Monday.

JetBlue (JBLU), Delta Air Lines (DAL), and American Airlines (AAL) turned in some of the airline sector's best performances.

Substantial strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. ImmunoGen (IMGN) helped lead the sector higher after Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage of the company's stock with a Buy rating.

Brokerage stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index up by 2.4 percent. Interactive Brokers (IBKR) posted a standout gain after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings.

Chemical, defense, natural gas, and trucking stocks also saw significant strength, while gold stocks bucked the uptrend by the broader markets.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day. The Dow surged up 162.29 points or 1 percent to 16,424.85, the Nasdaq jumped 52.06 points or 1.3 percent to 4,086.23 and the S&P 500 shot up 19.33 points or 1.1 percent to 1,862.31.