New York, Aug 29 (IANS): Wiping out previous losses, US stocks ended higher as robust energy and financial stocks underpinned the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 258.20 points, or 1.00 per cent, to 26,036.10. The S&P 500 increased 18.78 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 2,887.94 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 29.94 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 7,856.88, Xinhua news agency reported.

The majority of the 30 blue-chip stocks in the Dow extended gains, with shares of UnitedHealth Group up nearly 2 per cent, leading the gainers.

On the financial front, shares of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase rose 1.19 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively, among the strong performers in the group.

On the energy front, shares of Chevron and Exxon Mobil rallied nearly 0.86 per cent and over 0.73 per cent, respectively.

The energy and financial sectors also led gains in the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors by rising 1.4 per cent and over 0.9 per cent respectively. Ten of the 11 primary sectors traded higher around market close.

Shares of Tiffany rose over 3.02 per cent, after the US luxury jewellery giant reported second-quarter profits that topped market forecast, despite lower-than-expected quarterly revenues.

All of the long-dated US Treasury yields continued to retreat throughout the day. The short-term 3-month Treasury rate also fell following morning gains.