Stocks ended higher on Wednesday as weakness in the U.S. dollar fueled appetite for riskier assets, propelling shares of financial, technology and natural resource companies into a late-hour advance.

* The U.S. dollar index <.DXY>, which has been inversely correlated with equities since the S&P 500 <.SPX> hit bottom in early March, dropped 0.4 percent.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 51.08 points, or 0.50 percent, to 10,337.05, according to the latest available figures. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 3.95 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,095.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 10.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,183.73.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Kenneth Barry)