Energy companies lead US stocks higher as oil prices rebound

Energy companies led U.S. stocks broadly higher in early trading Wednesday, wiping out some of the market's losses from a day earlier. Energy stocks are benefiting from a pickup in crude oil prices, which have fallen sharply in recent weeks on concerns of rising supplies. Industrial companies and banks were also climbing.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 13 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,735 as of 10:13 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 107 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,394. The Nasdaq composite added 31 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,232. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 12 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,527. The benchmark S&P 500 index is coming off a four-day losing streak.

OIL REBOUND: The price of U.S. crude oil was moving higher a day after it had its steepest drop in more than three years. Benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 1.6 percent to $56.59 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 1.9 percent to $66.73 a barrel in London.

Oil had fallen for 12 straight days as of Tuesday, driven by worries over rising oil production around the world and weakening demand from developing countries.

Natural gas, meanwhile, jumped 8.7 percent to $4.46 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The rebound in oil prices helped boost energy stocks. Cimarex Energy gained 3.5 percent to $87.32.

RETAIL THERAPY: Macy's rose 1.4 percent to $26.27 after the department store chain reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street's forecasts. The company also upped its annual earnings expectations.

BOND YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.15 percent from 3.14 percent late Tuesday.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 113.92 yen from 113.86 yen on Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1316 from $1.1268.

OVERSEAS: Major stock indexes in Europe were moving mostly higher. Germany's DAX added 0.1 percent, while France's CAC was little changed. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 0.3 percent. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 inched up 0.2 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.7 percent. South Korea's Kospi edged down 0.2 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5 percent.