Roundup: U.S. stocks rally on upbeat data

U.S. stocks posted sizable gains Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing at the highest level since its March 2000 peak, as economic data came in positive.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 88.68 points, or 0.49 percent, to 18,038.27. The S&P 500 increased 10.67 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,107.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 21.07 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,035.17.

U.S. existing-home sales increased 6.1 percent from 4.89 million units in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million in March, the highest annual rate in 18 months, said the National Association of Realtors Wednesday. March's sales increase was the largest monthly rise since December 2010.

"The end of January marked an all-time low in the 30-year interest rate at 2.22 percent, having fallen from over 3 percent in November. Existing-home sales are measured a month or two after the contract is signed, making this March jump likely the product of the steep January decline in mortgage rates," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Investors were also assessing a batch of corporate earnings reports, as this week is one of the busiest weeks for quarterly results.

The Coca-Cola Company reported operating results of the first quarter 2015 Wednesday. The beverage giant's quarterly reported earnings per share were 35 cents and its shares rose 1.30 percent to 41.31 U.S. dollars apiece.

McDonald's announced global comparable sales decreased 2.3 percent. The company posted quarterly consolidated revenues decrease of 11 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014 and diluted earnings per share of 84 cents.

Shares of McDonald's, however, added 3.13 percent to 97.84 dollars apiece Wednesday as investors cheered a turnaround plan expected on May 4. The company on Tuesday announced a global commitment on deforestation across the company's expansive global supply chain.

Shares of Boeing fell 1.40 percent to 151.19 dollars apiece Wednesday, though the company reported better-than-expected earnings of 1.97 dollars per share for the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Visa shares and MasterCard shares soared 4.07 percent and 3.91 percent, respectively, as China's State Council announced detailed regulations on bank card clearing services, further opening up the country's financial sector.

Overseas, Asian stocks continued to surge, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei index closing above the 20,000 threshold for the first time in 15 years boosted by robust trade data.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 4.08 percent to end at 12.71 Wednesday.

In other markets, U.S. crude price dropped as a government report showed that crude stockpile of the country rose more than expected last week.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 45 cents to settle at 56.16 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar declined against most major currencies Wednesday despite upbeat economic data.

In late New York trading, the euro climbed to 1.0742 dollars from 1.0735 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 119.87 Japanese yen, higher than 119.70 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by more than 1 percent Wednesday on a drop in safe- haven demand amid the easing Middle East tension and the upbeat U. S. housing data.

The most active gold contract for June delivery lost 16.2 dollars, or 1.35 percent, to settle at 1,186.90 dollars per ounce. Endite