U.S. stocks moved higher in Wednesday's midday trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 1.1 percent, while the S&P 500 is ahead 1.4 percent. The NASDAQ is up 1.3 percent.

European stocks closed higher.

London's Financial Times index increased nine-tenths of a percent to end at 5,442. The CAC-40 in Paris gained 2.4 percent to finish at 3,230. The DAX in Germany rose 2.2 percent to hit 5,994.

Markets in Asia were mixed at the close. Tokyo's Nikkei index fell four-tenths of a percent to finish at 8,739. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed one percent higher to end at 18,329.

The price of gold is up $16.70 to trade at $1,679 an ounce.

The dollar was up against the yen but lost value compared to the euro.