Stocks Ended Higher, Snapping 5-Day Losing Streak

U.S. stocks closed with solid gains on Wednesday as the price of oil steadied near six-year lows and a report showed that U.S. businesses hired more workers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 212.88 points, or 1.23%, to 17,584.52. The S&P 500 gained 23.29 points, or 1.16%, to 2,025.90. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 57.73 points, or 1.26%, to 4,650.47.

Private-sector employment gains accelerated in December as employers added 241,000 jobs, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported Wednesday. ADP revised November’s gain to 227,000 from a prior estimate of 208,000.

The U.S. Federal Reserve pressed ahead at its last policy-setting meeting with plans to begin raising interest rates later this year. According to minutes of the Fed’s Dec. 16-17 meeting, released on Wednesday, U.S. central bankers reviewed a broad set of data showing the United States was holding its own as other parts of the global economy turned in the wrong direction.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. reported a rise in its same store sales during the holiday period. The Plano-based retailer’s preliminary report shows that same store sales popped 3.7 percent during the nine week November and December period over the same time last year.