Stocks Ended Higher, led by Retail and Technology

U.S. stocks ended moderately higher on Wednesday, boosted by Retail and technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.52 points, or 0.25%, to 24,768.93. The S&P 500 gained 11.01 points, or 0.41%, to 2,722.46. The Nasdaq Composite added 46.67 points, or 0.63%, to 7,398.30.

Oil prices settled with a gain Wednesday, buoyed by a second consecutive weekly decline in U.S. crude inventories and continued signs of a pull back in the global glut of oil. June West Texas Intermediate crude added 18 cents, or nearly 0.3%, to settle at $71.49 a barrel. July Brent crude finished up 85 cents, or 1.1%, at $79.28 a barrel.

Cisco Systems Inc reported a 4.4 percent rise in quarterly revenue on Wednesday, driven by strong growth in its newer businesses such as cyber security. The company’s net income rose to $2.69 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the third quarter ended April 28, from $2.52 billion, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.