The American stock market closed higher Wednesday with rising oil prices and shares of domestic energy companies.
The Dow Jones industrial index rose 0.2 percent to 16,899 points. The Nasdaq increased 0.3 percent to end the day at 4,703 points and the S&P 500 rose 0.41 percent to close at 1,986 points.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 1.08 percent to reach $34.77 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.87 percent to $37.08.
Shares of Chesapeake Energy, one of the country's largest natural gas companies, soared 23 percent after former CEO Aubrey McClendon was killed in a car crash a day after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on antitrust charges.
Shares of Marathon Oil, Murphy Oil and Devon Energy all saw huge gains. In addition, nonfarm private sector employment increased by 214,000 in February, beating expectations of 190,000, according to the ADP National Employment Report based on 400,000 business clients.
Markets on Thursday will focus on the government's productivity report and initial jobless claims.
