U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday, though well below session highs, as investors considered news related to the trade war between the United States and China. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 157.03, or 0.6 percent, to 24,527.27, after earlier surging more than 450 points. Twenty-four of the index's 30 components gained, led by Dow DuPont and American Express, which each advanced about 2 percent. Caterpillar and Boeing—vulnerable to international trade tensions—increased 1.7 and 1.45 percent, respectively. Verizon Communications led decliners, plunging 2.7 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14.29, or 0.5 percent, to 2,651.07. Earlier, the index had gained 1.85 percent. Consumer discretionary led advancing sectors. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 66.48, or 0.95 percent, to 7,098.31, after earlier rising by 2.35 percent. Netflix jumped 3.6 percent, Facebook climbed 1.7 percent, and Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet each added at least 1.1 percent.