U.S. stocks snap back, as Germany and Greece move closer to a deal

Investing.com - Investing.com -- U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday posting one of their best one-day gains of the year, as Germany reportedly neared a breakthrough with Greece on an incremental cash-for-reforms package that could help the cash-strapped nation avoid default on its sovereign debt.
Stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index all soared by more than 1%, to return to near-record territory. The Dow jumped 236.36 or 1.33% to 18,000.40 to halt a four-day skid. Buoyed by gains in tech and pharmaceutical stocks, the NASDAQ rose 62.82 or 1.25% to 5,076.69, while the S&P 500 gained 25.05 or 1.20% to 2,105.20.
On the S&P 500, all 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Technology, Finacials and Energy industries all gained more than 1.25%. Entering Wednesday's session, the S&P 500 closed lower on nine of its previous 14 sessions.
The top performer on the Dow was Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which gained 1.67 or 2.45% to 69.62, one day after one of the world's largest credit card companies announced it would accept airline-supplied flight manifests for fraud payment card chargebacks. The worst performer was Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which gained 0.12 or 0.25% to 47.46. All 30 components of the Dow on Wednesday closed in the green.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN), which gained 10.60 or 6.66% to 169.31. It came amid a spike in short selling activity after the company disclosed a rash of insider buying and selling activities in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alexion Pharmaceuticals finished just ahead of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), which surged for the second consecutive session. Netflix gained 26.04 or 4.02% to 673.19, one day after its shareholders made initial steps toward a potential stock split. At one point on Wednesday, Netflix reached an all-time high of 692.61 a share.
The worst performer was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), which fell 13.53 or 2.57% to 512.56, in spite of the Food and Drug Administration's approval of its cholesterol-lowering medication.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals also finished as the top performer on the S&P 500, ahead of Johnson Controls Inc (NYSE:JCI) which rose 2.13 or 4.13% to 53.69, after the Milwaukee-based company said it is exploring the sale of its automotive business. The worst performer was H&R Block Inc (NYSE:HRB), after the Kansas City-based tax preparation company reported flat earnings amid a decrease in the number of returns it handled during tax season 2015. H&R Block dipped 1.69 or 5.29% to 30.27.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers outnumbered decliners by a margin of 2,272 to 883.