NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday as market participants digested the Federal Reserve's January meeting minutes and the latest slew of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.84 points, or 0.40 percent, to 29,348.03. The S&P 500 was up 15.86 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,386.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 84.44 points, or 0.87 percent, to 9,817.18.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, with both energy and technology up more than 1 percent, leading the gainers. Real estate declined 1.36 percent, the worst-performing group.
Apple shares closed up 1.45 percent, contributing to the market gains. The stock struggled in the previous session after the company issued a warning over its quarterly revenue.
The U.S. central bank released the minutes from its January meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Participants generally judged that the current stance of monetary policy was appropriate to support sustained expansion of economic activity, showed the minutes.
On the data front, U.S. producer price index (PPI) rose 0.5 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
U.S. housing starts dropped 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.567 million units last month, the Commerce Department said. Enditem
