A person walks past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 7, 2022.
A person walks past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 7, 2022. Reuters / ANDREW KELLY

U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumping over 3%, rebounding from several days of declines as oil prices pulled back sharply and investors gauged developments in the Ukraine crisis.

Financial shares led the way among S&P 500 sectors in a broad-based rebound, as the S&P 500 and Dow industrials also posted sharp gains, following four straight days of declines.

Oil tumbled on Wednesday after reports that the United Arab Emirates will call on fellow OPEC members to boost production, potentially easing some of the supply concerns caused by sanctions on Russia after its conflict with Ukraine. A steep rise in oil and other commodities has sparked concerns about a further jolt to rising inflation and the potential for slowing economic growth.

"I think it is an oversold rally on cooling in commodities," said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital. "Stocks have been sold pretty aggressively for a few days. I don't know that it permanently changes the direction of things."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 633.54 points, or 1.94%, to 33,266.18, the S&P 500 gained 102.01 points, or 2.45%, to 4,272.71 and the Nasdaq Composite added 419.17 points, or 3.28%, to 13,214.72.

The S&P 500 financial sector gained 3.8% while the heavyweight technology sector rose 3.6%.

Energy, which has been the standout sector performer in 2022, fell 4.3% as benchmark Brent crude slid to around $110 a barrel from over $130 earlier in the week.

Travel and leisure stocks, which have been hit hard recently, also soared. Carnival Corp jumped 10.3% and United Airlines Holdings climbed 9.8%.

In the latest developments, Ukraine accused Russia of bombing a children's hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol during an agreed ceasefire to enable civilians trapped in the city to escape.

Stocks have struggled as concerns about the Russia-Ukraine crisis have deepened a sell-off initially fueled by worries over higher bond yields as the Federal Reserve is expected to tighten monetary policy this year to fight inflation.

On Monday, the Nasdaq confirmed it was in a bear market, falling over 20% from its record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average confirmed it was in a correction as it closed more than 10% lower from its record peak.

Investors were awaiting Thursday's report on U.S. consumer prices as a key data release ahead of the Fed's March 15-16 meeting.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.75-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.69-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted two new 52-week highs and three new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 27 new highs and 44 new lows.