U.S. stocks rally on rising oil prices

U.S. stocks ended higher after wavering in a tight range Wednesday, as investors cheered over solid gains in oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.77 points, or 0.37 percent, to 18,005.05. The S&P 500 gained 6.99 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,119.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 12.89 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,974.64.

Oil prices rose for a third straight day Wednesday, with U.S. oil settling above 51 U.S. dollars a barrel for the first time since July 2015, helped by a larger-than-expected U.S. crude stockpile draw.

U.S. crude supplies of last week lost 3.2 million barrels to 532.5 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s weekly report released Wednesday.

Oil prices have surged over 90 percent from a multi-year low in February on a weaker U.S. dollar, a continued slide in the U.S. output and unexpected disruptions.

On the economic front, the number of job openings was little changed at 5.8 million on the last business day of April, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Overseas, European equities closed mixed Wednesday as the World Bank cut its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4 percent from the 2.9 percent estimated in January. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange fell 0.69 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 0.27 percent.

In Asia, Chinese stocks closed lower on Wednesday after China reported weak but improved trade in May. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.30 percent to 2,927.16 points. Enditem