At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 424.51 points, or 1.35%, to 31,961.86. The S&P500 index added 44.06 points, or 1.14%, to 3,925.43. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index grew 132.77 points, or 0.99%, to 13,597.97.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated in a second day of testimony in Washington that the Fed's promise to get the U.S. economy back to full employment and to not worry about inflation unless prices rose in a persistent and troubling way.
Crude oil climbed to fresh 13-month highs after U.S. government data showed a drop in crude output as a deep freeze disrupted production last week.
Johnson & Johnson shares rose 1.3% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine appeared safe and effective in trials, paving the way for its approval for emergency use as soon as this week.
On the U.S. economic front, US new home sales spiked by 4.3% to an annual rate of 923,000 in January after soaring by 5.5% to a revised rate of 885,000 in December, data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed. New home sales in the Midwest helped lead the higher in January, skyrocketing by 12.6% to an annual rate of 107,000. The report said new home sales in the West also shot up by 6.8% to a rate of 307,000, while new home sales in the South jumped by 3.0% to a rate of 549,000.
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