Stocks added to gains on Wednesday as a reassuring report on the services sector overshadowed another stream of disappointing corporate profits and outlooks.
The Nasdaq outperformed the other indexes, gaining more than 2 percent as big-cap technology companies, including Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Apple (AAPL.O) rose.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI added 74.87 points, or 0.93 percent, to 8,153.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 12.45 points, or 1.48 percent, to 850.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 32.58 points, or 2.15 percent, at 1,548.88.
