Stocks in the United States jumped on Wednesday, after an earnings report from IBM fueled optimism that technology may fare better than other sectors during the recession.
Financial stocks also reclaimed some of the losses that saw the financial sector fall to a 14-year low on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 279.01 points, or 3.51%, to 8,228.10. Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 35.02 points, or 4.35%, to 840.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 66.21 points, or 4.6%, to 1,507.07.
International Business Machines Corp rose nearly 12% to $US91.42 after the world's top technology services company posted a quarterly profit and a 2009 profit outlook that surpassed expectations.
The financial sector also drove gains in the S&P 500. The KBW index of bank stocks and the S&P financials index both jumped 14.6%.
Bank of America shares climbed 31%, four days after the company posted its largest quarterly loss in 17 years.
JPMorgan Chase rose 25.1% to $US22.63.
Trading volume was active on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.74 billion shares changing hands. About 2.12 billion shares were traded on the Nasdaq - below last year's daily average of 2.28 billion.
