U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday on investor relief that oil prices fell sharply after a higher-than-expected rise in crude stocks last week. U.S. light, sweet crude oil futures tumbled $1.82 to $53.35 a barrel, slipping from an all-time high of $55.67 hit on Monday and easing concern among stock investors that high energy costs could curb consumer spending and hurt company profits. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude oil inventories rose by four million barrels last week to 283.4 million. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast an average rise in crude stocks of 1.4 million barrels. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 63.34 points, or 0.64 percent, at 9,951.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 7.70 points, or 0.69 percent, at 1,118.79. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 29.53 points, or 1.53 percent, at 1,958.32. "Whenever you see a nice drop in the price of oil, you see a gain in the indexes," said Barry Hyman, chief investment strategist at Ehrenkrantz, King, Nussbaum. "Intraday moves in the market are related to the price of crude -- the one thing that has been holding the market back is the price of oil." Cardinal Health Inc. helped buoy the S&P 500, rising about 22 percent to $47.92, a day after it posted higher earnings for its June quarter. --More 2330 Local Time 2030 GMT
