1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks rally on upbeat data, Fed Beige Book

U.S. stocks posted sizable gains on Wednesday, as investors were digesting a string of roughly positive economic data and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 64.33 points, or 0.36 percent, to 18,076.27. The S&P 500 gained 4.47 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,114.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22.71 points, or 0.45 percent, to 5,099.23.

U.S. international trade deficit in goods and services decreased from 50.6 billion U.S. dollars in March to 40.9 billion dollars in April, well above market expectations, as exports increased and imports decreased, said the Department of Commerce Wednesday.

Private sector employment increased by 201,000 jobs from April to May, the most in four months and slightly above estimates, according to the May ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.

The ADP figure is seen as a pre-indicator for the highly- focused nonfarm payrolls report due Friday.

Meanwhile, the Non-Manufacturing Index registered 55.7 percent in May, missing market consensus and 2.1 percentage points lower than the April reading of 57.8 percent, said the Institute Supply Management in its monthly survey. The latest figure represents continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector although at a slower rate.

"While the ISM nonmanufacturing index remains solidly in expansionary territory, the May slowdown is consistent with the recent pullback in consumption. Q2 is not likely to be as weak as Q1, but the bounce is not likely to be very robust, either," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Wall Street was also meditating on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book released in the afternoon.

According to the Beige Book, reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest overall economic activity expanded during the reporting period from early April to late May.

Outlooks among respondents were generally optimistic, with growth expected to continue at a modest to moderate pace in several districts.

Overseas, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday projected the world economy would grow by 3.1 percent this year and by 3.8 percent in 2016, down from an initial forecast of 3.6 percent and 3.9 percent respectively due to "unexpected weakness seen in the first quarter of 2015."

Besides, the European Central Bank announced on Wednesday that it kept the main interest rates unchanged, while reiterating that it would fully carry-out its sovereign bond purchase program as planned. Endite