New York, US stocks ended higher on Wednesday as investors weighed the possibility of normalizing economic activities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 553.16 points, or 2.21 per cent, to 25,548.27. The S&P 500 rose 44.36 points, or 1.48 per cent, to 3,036.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 72.14 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 9,412.36, Xinhua reported.

The 30-stock average popped back above the 25,000 level for the first time since March, while the S&P 500 ended above the 3,000 mark.

All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished higher, with financials and industrials up 4.34 per cent and 3.34 per cent, respectively, leading the gains.

The moves followed a massive rally on Wall Street in the previous session with the Dow closing up more than 500 points.

All 50 states in the United States have reopened in some way.

More than 1.69 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, with nearly 100,000 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.