Stocks added to gains in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite up more than 2 percent and the S&P 500 rising more than 1 percent.

Stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data and signs that officials were moving to shore up struggling European banks reassured investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 93.93 points, or 0.87 percent, at 10,902.64. The S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 14.02 points, or 1.25 percent, at 1,137.97. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 48.02 points, or 2 percent, at 2,452.84.

The benchmark S&P 500 was still near the lower end of a trading range that goes back two months, roughly between 1,080 and 1,220.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)