Tech and energy stocks make a comeback after sell-off wipes out Wall Street's gains for the year

Thomson Reuters

Traders react at the closing bell on the floor of the NYSE in New York

• Wall Street staged a recovery Wednesday, a day after a sharp selloff wiped out gains for the year.
• Oil and technology stocks, which have recently fallen into bear markets, climbed higher.
• Follow the US indexes in real time here.

Stocks rose Wednesday as oil prices steadied, a day after energy and mega-cap technology companies led a sell-off that wiped out Wall Street's gains for the year.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4%, and the S&P 500 gained 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, or about 150 points.

"Investors will be hoping for a calmer session on the last day before the Thanksgiving holiday, which may offer a break from momentum selling and time to reflect on the market's still supportive fundamentals," said Vincent Heaney, a strategist at UBS.

After wiping out more than $1 trillion in market value from recent highs through Tuesday, all eyes were on the biggest technology companies. The FANG Index rose 1.5%, led by a 3.4% jump in Facebook shares. Amazon (+2.7%), Apple (+0.2%) and Google parent Alphabet (+2%) also gained. Netflix turned slightly positive after shedding more than 1% in early trading.

Oil prices were higher following two sessions of sharp losses, rallying before paring gains after the US reported a build in crude inventories for a ninth straight week. Both rising about 2%, West Texas Intermediate was trading around $54.43 per barrel and Brent around $63.42. Energy stocks jumped on the rebound.

Crude prices are still in bear territory, having hit their lowest levels in more than a year on Tuesday, as investors worry about the prospect of oversupply.

Treasury yields ticked higher, and the dollar fell 0.2% against a basket of currencies, as solid housing data rolled in. Breaking a six-month streak of losses, the National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales in the US rose 1.4% in October to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.22 million units.

"Activity has been depressed, relative to the path implied by mortgage applications, by hurricanes Florence and Michael, but we're expecting a rebound over the next couple of months," Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Sheperdson said in an email.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said new orders for key capital goods made in the US were unexpectedly unchanged last month and that shipments were slightly higher. Economists polled by Reuters estimated core capital goods orders rose by 0.2% in October.

Wall Street's rise came after global markets steadied overnight. Across the Atlantic, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.56%. Markets in Asia were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.21% and the Nikkei Index down 0.35%.