U.S. stocks moved higher in Wednesday's trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nine-tenths of a percent to close at 11,519. The S&P 500 advanced one percent to finish at 1,207 while the NASDAQ moved up eight-tenths of a percent to end at 2,605.

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 moved up nearly $16 to trade at $1,678.13 an ounce.

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