Nasdaq closes at new all-time high

The Nasdaq bolted to a fresh record peak Wednesday in a broad-based Wall Street rally that largely reversed sharp losses in the prior session.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 73.84 points (1.47 percent) to 5,106.59, almost 15 points above the prior record set April 24.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 121.45 (0.67 percent) to 18,162.99, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 19.28 (0.92 percent) at 2,123.48.

Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management, said the market is in a "back and forth" mode with little clear direction.

"Yesterday there was some nervousness over the potential for a Greek default and today we have a little more buying," he said.

Chipmaker Broadcom surged 21.5 percent higher following reports it is close to a deal to be acquired by Avago Technologies, which rose 7.8 percent.

The reports helped lift other chip companies, including Texas Instruments (+2.6 percent) and Micron Technology (+3.0 percent).

Other big gains came from Dow members Apple (+1.9 percent) and Microsoft (+2.2 percent), as well as Facebook (+1.5 percent) and Netflix (+2.1 percent).

Dow member McDonald's rose 0.2 percent as it announced it would stop reporting its sales on a monthly basis and would instead only report them quarterly. The restaurant chain said the move would enable it to focus investors on its long-term strategy.

Jewelry retailer Tiffany vaulted 10.5 percent higher as first-quarter earnings translated to 81 cents per share, much higher than the 70 cents projected by analysts.

Women's apparel and accessory seller Michael Kors slumped 24.2 percent after projecting full-year sales of just $4.7-$4.8 billion, below the $5.05 billion analyst estimate.

Tobacco giant Reynolds American jumped 2.3 percent as it received approval from antitrust regulators at the US Federal Trade Commission to acquire Lorillard. Lorillard rose 1.0 percent.

Packaged meat company Hormel Foods rose 3.2 percent after announcing it will acquire privately held organic prepared meat company Applegate Farms for $775 million.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dipped to 2.13 percent from 2.14 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.87 percent from 2.89 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.