NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as technology companies traded higher for the second day in a row and consumer companies gained steam as cruise lines rose. The beleaguered financial sector recovered some of its losses from earlier this year.
Stocks started the day sharply higher, following a jump in European markets, although they returned some of those gains as the day wore on. Oil prices followed the same pattern and finished a few cents higher. Cruise lines rose after Carnival posted strong first-quarter results, and the dollar weakened further. Stocks are up about 7 percent this month, part of a rally that has canceled out their losses from a disastrous start to the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 83.55 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,716.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,063.95. The Nasdaq composite index added 22.67 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,869.29.