Wall Street finished trading on a positive note on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump denied that he planned to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, contradicting reported claims of a senior White House official. "I don't rule out anything ... but I think it's highly unlikely," he added.
Further, financial institutions Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley posted better-than-expected earnings results.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average went up by 0.53% or 231 points, lifted by a 6.19% gain in Johnson and Johnson. Simultaneously, the Nasdaq 100 advanced by 0.10%, while ARM Holdings PLC increased by 4.62%. The S&P 500 added 0.32%, with Global Payments Inc. as the best performer, climbing 6.51%.
On the currency markets, the euro stood at $1.16357, trading 0.30% higher against the US dollar at 3:58 pm ET.
