Stocks snap losing streak ahead of Fed

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A late session push by the tech sector helped major gauges end their three-day losing streak, even amid concerns about the manufacturing sector and higher oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 90.07 to 13,427.73, Charts) climbed 90 points, or about 0.7 percent, while the broader S&P 500 (up 13.45 to 1,506.34, Charts) rose 0.9 percent.

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The tech-laden Nasdaq (up 31.19 to 2,605.35, Charts) jumped 1.2 percent, while the Russell 2000 (up 12.33 to 838.46, Charts) small cap index rallied 1.5 percent higher.

The tech sector delivered a big push late in the session as shares of software maker Oracle (up $0.53 to $19.69, Charts, Fortune 500) posted higher quarterly profit late Tuesday, beating Wall Street estimates. Shares of the tech bellwether rose nearly 2 percent in Nasdaq trading Wednesday after the company issued an upbeat outlook for the current quarter.

Other techs leading the charge included Intel Corp. (up $0.41 to $23.79, Charts, Fortune 500), Salesforce.com Inc. (up $2.89 to $43.92, Charts), Dell Inc. (up $0.40 to $27.96, Charts, Fortune 500) and Internet measurement firm comScore (up $6.97 to $23.47, Charts), whose shares soared 42 percent in its market debut Wednesday.

The financial sector also provided a boost, as shares of Bear Stearns (up $3.96 to $143.31, Charts, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (up $5.16 to $219.33, Charts, Fortune 500) both finished over 2 percent higher.

Stocks fell early in the session following a bigger than expected drop in big-ticket item orders, which fell by 2.8 percent in May.

A jump in the price of oil over $1 a barrel also weighed on markets. Oil climbed Wednesday after the latest report on U.S. oil and energy inventories revealed a drop in gasoline inventories. U.S. light crude for August finished up $1.20 to $68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Stock have shown a lot of volatility recently, with the Dow rallying more than 100 points each of the last two days until gains evaporated amid ongoing concerns about the subprime mortgage sector and its impact on the recent buyout boom.

Hugh Johnson, chief strategist for ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management, said the recent erratic erratic behavior of stocks makes sense at a time when second quarter earnings numbers and big economic reports like the June employment report, lay on the horizon.

"It's hard to get portfolio managers to make any big commitments," said Johnson.

While it wasn't the primary focus of Wednesday's trading activity, Wall Street was well aware that the Federal Reserve had begun its two-day policy meeting. But the central bank, which is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at 5.25 percent, will not release its rate decision and its closely watched statement until Thursday afternoon.

Investors will have a few economic reports to sift through Thursday including the final reading on first-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims, both of which are due out before the market open.

On the earnings front, Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. (Charts, Fortune 500) posted higher quarterly results late Wednesday on stronger sales.

Nike (Charts, Fortune 500) shares jumped nearly 9 percent Wednesday after the apparel maker reported better than expected fourth-quarter profits in the previous session.

Shares of the food giant Conagra (up $1.14 to $26.70, Charts, Fortune 500) finished 4.4 percent higher after posting better than expected quarterly earnings Wednesday, citing strength in its energy trading and fertilizer divisions.

In corporate news, Blackstone Group (down $0.83 to $29.92, Charts) shares marked their third straight day of declines by easing 2.7 percent, falling below last week's initial public offering price of $31 a share.

Shares of the musical instrument retailer Guitar Center (up $9.92 to $59.98, Charts) jumped nearly 20 percent after the company said it agreed to a $2.1 billion buyout offer from private equity firm Bain Capital Partners.

Market breadth was positive. Winners beat losers 3 to 1 on volume of 1.76 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by 2 to 1 on volume of 2.06 billion shares.

Treasury prices were lower, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.09 percent from 5.08 percent late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar moved higher versus the euro and eased against the yen.

COMEX gold for August fell 50 cents to $644.80 an ounce.