NEW YORK -- Plunging oil prices pushed stocks sharply higher Wednesday as the United States' latest move to settle the dispute over Iran's nuclear arms program eased the energy market's worries about a supply cutoff from the petroleum-rich nation.\nThe pullback in crude oil helped calm inflation jitters as investors grew hopeful that the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting would shed light on the outlook for interest rates. Traders have been scouring for clues on whether to expect higher lending rates after the Fed said in early May that more rates hikes could be neeeded to battle soaring energy prices.\nMeanwhile, a recovering bond market was also helping stocks to their gains, and drew attention from disappointing earnings at Costco Wholesale Corp.\nOn Tuesday, a jump in oil prices, weakening consumer strength and a poor sales report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. triggered more heaving selling. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 184 points, its biggest one-day loss since dropping 214 points on May 11.\nIn midmorning trading Wednesday, the Dow gained 83.00, or 0.75 percent, to 11,177.43.\nBroader stock indicators rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 9.12, or 0.72 percent, at 1,268.96; the Nasdaq composite index added 15.95, or 0.74 percent, to 2,180.69, but still showed a loss for the year.\nFalling crude futures eased investors' inflation anxiety as traders awaited data expected to show increased domestic oil reserves. A barrel of light crude lost $1.03 to $71 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.\nBonds edged up alongside stocks, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipping to 5.06 percent from 5.08 percent late Tuesday. The U.S. dollar inched higher against the Japanese yen; gold prices stood near $660 an ounce.\nConcerns that rising U.S. lending rates will cramp global growth has roiled overseas markets this week. On Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei stock average plunged 2.47 percent, while stocks in Singapore slid 2.4 percent and the Indian market tumbled 3.6 percent.\nEuropean markets recouped some of their recent losses in afternoon activity, with Britain's FTSE 100 adding 0.85 percent, Germany's DAX index rising 0.89 percent and France's CAC-40 higher by 0.45 percent.
Before oil prices began their descent, Wall Street's already tenuous mood was strained somewhat by an unforeseen upswing in Chicago-area manufacturing activity, which fueled worries that sustained economic strength could prompt the Fed to continued boosting interest rates.\nThe Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for May jumped to 61.5, up from a reading of 57.2 the previous month and well ahead of economists' prediction for 56.\nCostco said its third-quarter profit grew 12 percent but just missed analyst estimates, although its sales came in above targets. Costco slid 47 cents to $53.09.\nADC Telecommunications Inc. is acquiring fellow equipment maker Andrew Corp. in a $2 billion stock swap worth $12.76 per share. ADC also posted a 32 percent slide in quarterly earnings. Andrew rose 53 cents to $10.31, and ADC lost $3.94 to $18.44.\nAdvancing issues outpaced decliners by 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume of 161.6 million shares trailed the 176.9 million shares changing hands at the same point Tuesday.\nThe Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gained 1.71, or 0.24 percent, to 712.75.
