US close: Stocks record second positive session in last eight

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Wednesday as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 clawed back some of yesterday's losses.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.68% at 34,814.39.52 and the S&P 500 was 0.85% firmer at 4,480.70, while the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.82% stronger at 15,161.53.

The Dow closed 236.82 points higher on Wednesday, taking a bite out of losses recorded on Tuesday after August's CPI reading revealed consumer-level inflation in the US slowed more quickly than expected last month.

Stocks continued their turbulent September on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones in the green, marking a second positive session out of the last eight amid rising investor concerns regarding the Covid-19 Delta variant derailing the US' economic recovery.

On the macro front, mortgage applications were up 0.3% in the US during the week ended 10 September due to a surge in purchasing activity and a heavy decline in refinancing activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Elsewhere, industrial production in the US edged pasts forecasts last month on the back of higher output from factories and utilities. According to the Department of Commerce, total output increased at a month-on-month pace of 0.4% (consensus: 0.5%), pushing the annual rate of gain to 5.9%.

Still on data, manufacturing activity in the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York surged in September, according to the results of a closely followed survey. The New York Fed's regional factory index jumped from a reading of 18.3 for August to 34.3 in September, roughly doubling economists' forecasts for a print of 17.1. A key sub-index for new orders also soared, rising from 14.8 to 33.7.

In the corporate space, Apple stock was in focus after the tech behemoth's virtual event on Tuesday saw it unveil new versions of the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

No major corporate earnings were released on Wednesday.