Stocks end higher after a day of steady gains

Technology companies and banks helped lift stocks on Wall Street broadly higher Wednesday, enabling the market to claw back some of its losses after a downbeat start to the week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, snapping a two-day slide. Most of the companies in the benchmark index rose, with technology, financial, and health care stocks accounting for a big share of the gains. Tesla, Amazon and other companies that rely directly on consumer spending also rose. Communication and utilities stocks fell.

Investors continued to work through company earnings reports while keeping an eye on bond yields, which eased lower. Smallcompany stocks far outpaced the broader market after slumping a day earlier.

“You had small-caps really get beaten up over the last few days, but today there’s some relief, and that’s pretty much enough to support everything else, at least for today,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at All