Stocks gained after a successful auction of Portuguese government debt apparently alleviated some concerns about Europe's banking financial system, then pared gains after the release of some rather dour observations from the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.32 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at 10,387.01. The S&P 500 index advanced 7.03 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,098.87, while the NASDAQ climbed 19.98 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,228.87
The Fed's Beige Book report on regional economic activity in August revealed that five of the twelve regions it tracks showed mixed or slowing activity – in July, only two regions exhibited a slowdown.
European markets gained. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.41 percent, Germany's DAX index advanced 0.76 percent, and France's CAC-40 added 0.92 percent.
Bond prices fell as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.66 percent from 2.61 percent late Tuesday.
Oil prices jumped to nearly $75 per barrel.
