U.S. stocks rally on Greece bailout, rising oil

U.S. stocks continued to rise Wednesday, as investors assessed a new bailout deal for Greece and rising oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.46 points, or 0.82 percent, to 17,851.51. The S&P 500 increased 14.48 points, or 0.70 percent, to 2,090.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 33.83 points, or 0.70 percent, to 4,894.89.

Finance ministers of the 19-country eurozone hammered out a deal in Brussels with Greece early Wednesday after an 11-hour meeting to start debt relief and unlock over 10 billion euros bailout cash for the country.

Oil prices were also in focus, which extended gains Wednesday after official data showed a larger-than-expected drop in crude stocks.

Meanwhile, investors tried to shake off worries that the possibility of a June rate hike becomes higher after the release of the Federal Reserve's hawkish minutes from its April meeting.

However, the latest speech from Fed officials indicated a hike sooner rather than later.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC overnight that a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike in June or July wasn't set in stone, but labor data suggested it was time to pull the trigger.

Overseas, European equities increased broadly amid oil recovery. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange jumped 1.47 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.70 percent.

In Asia, Chinese shares declined with the trading volume shrinking as investors remained cautious amid the bearish trend. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.23 percent to close at 2,815.09 points. Endit