US stocks rally as market concerns ease

U.S. stocks ended higher Wednesday, as global markets regained momentum after growth concerns eased.

The Dow added 619.07 points, or 3.95 percent, to 16,285.51. The S&P 500 increased 72.90 points, or 3.90 percent, to 1,940.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 191.05 points, or 4.24 percent, to 4,697.54.

Market sentiment was lifted by the upbeat U.S. economic data. New orders for manufactured durable goods in July increased 2.0 percent to 241.1 billion U.S. dollars, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

U.S. sales of new single-family houses in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000, said the Commerce Department Tuesday.

U.S. consumer confidence for August came in at 101.5, up from 91.0 in July, according to the New York-based research group Conference Board Tuesday.

Traders remained cautious after unexpected reversal on Tuesday, when U.S. stocks pared early gains in the final section of the trading and extended the fall.

The market value of more than 2 trillion dollars has been erased after S&P 500's 6-day losing streak.

The recent heavy selloff was sparked by expectations for the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates as soon as September as well as global growth concerns.

In corporate news, Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield services provider, agreed to buy Cameron International Corp. for 14.8 billion U.S. dollars.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar climbed against most major currencies Wednesday as positive economic data from the country renewed market expectation for an interest-rate hike this year.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1345 dollars from 1.1423 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 119.50 Japanese yen, lower than 119.79 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 13.7 U.S. dollars, or 1.20 percent, to settle at 1,124.60 dollars per ounce.