U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday as upbeat earnings from Intel and JPMorgan Chase boosted market sentiment. Dow returned to above 10,000 points for the first time in a year.

Traders work in the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, Oct. 14, 2009 (XINHUA)

Financial shares rose after JPMorgan Chase released a far-better-than-expected result. The second-largest U.S. bank by assets, also the first major bank to report third-quarter earnings, said its third quarter profit soared to 3.59 billion U.S. dollars, almost sevenfold of analysts' estimates. However, the bank said loan losses are still high and are likely to remain elevated for some time.

JPMorgan Chase shares were up 1.5 dollars, or 3.29 percent, to 47.16 dollars on Wednesday. Bank of America Corp. rose 4.38 percent to 18.59 dollars a share.

Intel Corporation, the world's largest computer-chip maker, reported a smaller-than-expected decline in profit and sales after Tuesday's closing bell, also topping analysts' estimates. And the company forecast sales that surpassed projections by as much as 1 billion dollars. The reports added to evidence that the global economy is recovering from the severe recession.

Technology sector was strong during the Wednesday trading. Intel rose 1.66 percent to 20.83 dollars; Cisco Systems, Inc. added 2.05 percent to 24.38 dollars. Google Inc. added 9.21 dollars, or 1.75 percent, to 535.32 dollars ahead of its quarterly result which is scheduled to come out Thursday.

Energy and basic material shares got a boost as crude oil gained momentum on weakened dollar. Oil prices settled at year-high of above 75 dollars a barrel in New York trading.

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, Oct. 14, 2009. Wall Street surged Wednesday and Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly climbed above 10,000 for the first time since Oct. 2008, as investors were boosted by surprisingly strong earnings reports from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Xinhua/Liu Xin)

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On economic news, retail sales declined in September by the largest amount this year as car sales plummeted following the end of the government's popular Cash for Clunkers program. But outside of autos, sales were better than expected.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that retail sales dropped 1.5 percent last month. That's smaller than the 2.1-percent fall economists had expected.

The Dow topped and stood firm above the 10,000-point level in afternoon trading. It is now up 53 percent from the bearish March low. But it remains 29.3 percent below its record close of 14,164.53 hit on Oct. 9, 2007.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 144.80 points, or 1.47 percent, to 10,015.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rallied 18.83 points, or 1.75 percent, to 1,092.02. The Nasdaq composite index gained 32.34 points, or 1.51 percent, to 2,172.23.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2009)