LONDON: U.S. stocks ended higher Wednesday, propelling the Russell 2000 index of small-company shares to a record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 75.91 points, or 0.4%, to 18112.61. The S&P 500 rose 10.79 points, or 0.5%, to 2106.63, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 33.73 points, or 0.7%, to 5011.02.
The Russell 2000 index rose 10 points, or 0.8%, to 1275.35, a record close.
Traders said there was no one reason for the move higher, pointing to higher oil prices, a handful of earnings reports and a weaker dollar. Around 7.1 billion shares traded Wednesday, higher than the 2015 average of 6.7 billion shares.
Energy stocks in the S&P 500 rose 2.3%, notching the biggest sector gain as crude-oil futures surged 5.8% to $56.39 a barrel. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. added 20 points to the Dow’s overall gain.
