US stocks surge as Dow gains 230 points

The Dow jumped 1.3 percent Wednesday as a broad-based rally led by technology and banking shares snapped a week of anemic trade in US equity markets.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,994.93, up 230.89 points (1.30 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 24.60 (1.18 percent), while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 62.82 (1.25 percent) to 5,076.69.

Stocks were helped by midday news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande would meet with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of an EU-Latin America summit, encouraging hopes for a deal extending Greece's bailout funding.

But analysts attributed the strong gains primarily to a rally after four straight days of either negative or flat trade.

"You're seeing buyers step in and take advantage of a market that has been under pressure during the last trading days," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.

"It's a relief rally on oversold conditions."