Stocks Ended Higher, Oil Jumped 8 Percent

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, as a 8% jump in oil prices lifted energy and materials sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 183.12 points, or 1.13%, to 16,336.66. The S&P 500 added 9.50 points, or 0.50%, to 1,912.53. The Nasdaq Composite was down 12.71 points, or 0.28%, to 4,504.24.

Oil prices jumped 8 percent higher on Wednesday. U.S. crude closed with one its biggest gains in five months, rising $2.40, or 8 percent, to $32.28. Brent futures settled up $2.32, or 7.1 percent, at $35.04 a barrel, after rising as high as $35.11.

Companies in the U.S. service sector such as retail, banking and health care grew in January at the slowest pace in almost two year. The Institute for Supply Management said its nonmanufacturing index fell to 53.5% from 55.8% in December.

Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) on Wednesday beat Wall Street sales and earnings expectations in the fourth quarter and said its China division system sales rose 7% in the quarter and worldwide system sales grew 6%. Yum said it earned an adjusted 68 cents a share in the fourth quarter, up from 61 cents in the year-ago period. Sales reached $3.95 billion, down slightly from $3.99 billion a year ago.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) said Wednesday it intends to acquire Silicon Valley Internet of Things startup Jasper Technologies Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash. Jasper allows companies to manage connected objects through cellular networks with a cloud-based software program, and was valued at $1.4 billion in its most recent round of venture funding.