1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks jump on surging oil, Fed minutes

U.S. stocks posted solid gains Wednesday, as Wall Street assessed the newly-released minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting amid a strong recovery in oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 112.73 points, or 0.64 percent, to 17,716.05. The S&P 500 gained 21.49 points, or 1.05 percent, to 2,066.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index leapt 76.78 points, or 1.59 percent, to 4,920.71.

According to the minutes of Fed's March 15-16 meeting, many central bank policy makers expressed concerns over a global economic slowdown in their latest meeting.

"Participants agreed that their ongoing assessments of the data and the implications for the outlook, rather than calendar dates, would determine the timing and pace of future adjustments to the stance of monetary policy," said the minutes.

"The decision to avoid hinting at an increased possibility of a hike at the next meeting suggests the doves dominated this discussion. Still, the failure to downgrade the balance of risks suggests it was not a complete rout. The hawks still have influence," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

Oil prices rebounded strongly Wednesday, with both U.S. oil and Brent crude soaring over 5 percent, as the U.S. government reported a surprise decrease in crude inventories for last week.

U.S. commercial crude stockpiles fell 4.9 million barrels to a total of 529.9 barrels in the previous week, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

Overseas, European equities also increased broadly Wednesday on oil recovery. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange increased 0.64 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 1.16 percent.

In Asia, Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended slightly lower after recent solid gains, as data showed business activity in China's service sector strengthened last month. Endit