US stocks finish higher after volatile session

Wall Street stocks finished a choppy day with strong gains led by petroleum-linked equities as oil prices rose again.

NEW YORK–Wall Street stocks finished a choppy day with strong gains led by petroleum-linked equities as oil prices rose again.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,359.02, up 194.07 points (1.13 percent) after earlier falling as low as 17,037.76.

The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 25.86 (1.30 percent) to 2,020.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 41.45 (0.89 percent) to 4,676.69.

Analysts said the volatility demonstrated the edginess in the markets.

“People are very nervous,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

Energy stocks surged as US oil prices rose for third straight session behind news of lower rig counts and exploration spending cuts.

Dow member Chevron rose 3.2 percent, while oil services company Halliburton jumped 3.8 percent.