US stocks have rebounded, led by energy companies benefiting from an oil price spike, as the West mulls a possible punitive attack against Syria for its alleged chemical weapons use.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.38 points (0.33 per cent) to 14,824.51 on Wednesday.
The broad-market S&P 500 climbed 4.48 (0.27 per cent) to 1,634.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq was the biggest gainer, up 14.83 (0.41 per cent) at 3,593.35.
Stocks pulled back from Tuesday's sharp sell-off that came after the United States, France and Britain stepped up warnings that Damascus would be held accountable for the deadly August 21 attack using chemical weapons.
Crude oil prices surged higher in anticipation of a possible impact on energy supplies from a US military intervention, pushing the US benchmark WTI contract to $US110.10 a barrel, its highest close since May 2011.
On the Dow, Chevron jumped 2.5 per cent and ExxonMobil added 2.3 per cent. Marathon Oil raced up 3.7 per cent.
Investors shrugged off a disappointing report on the US housing recovery.
US pending home sales dropped unexpectedly in July, by 1.3 per cent from June, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the second straight monthly decline as higher mortgage interest rates hit demand.
Technology stocks were in focus. Dow member Hewlett-Packard gained 2.8 per cent and Nasdaq heavyweight Apple added 0.5 per cent.
Groupon jumped 1.5 per cent after chief executive Eric Lefkofsky told The Wall Street Journal the coupon-dealer and e-retailer was planning a North American warehouse network for its physical goods business, taking it into more direct competition with Amazon.com.
Amazon rose 0.2 per cent and smaller online retailer Overstock.com fell 0.4 per cent.
TiVo, the digital video recording pioneer, soared 5.7 per cent after reporting solid second-quarter earnings.
Bank of America edged up 0.1 per cent. The parent of brokerage Merrill Lynch will pay $US160 million ($A179.18 million) to settle charges it discriminated against African-American employees, lawyers for the employees told AFP on Wednesday.
The bond market fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose to 2.78 per cent from 2.72 per cent late on Tuesday, while the 30-year yield increased to 3.75 per cent from 3.70 per cent. Prices and yields move inversely.
