Wednesday's early afternoon trade: Wall Street gains

US stocks rose on Wednesday as investors positioned themselves for the quarter's end and the S&P 500 attempted to hold above a key technical level. Stocks advanced as money managers re-allocated positions for the end of the quarter, with the S&P 500 up 5.9 percent. The S&P broke through 1,330, which was noted as a resistance point for stocks. The benchmark was unable to hold gains above that mark in its three previous attempts.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 100.06 points, or 0.81 percent, to 12,379.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 11.85 points, or 0.90 percent, to 1,331.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 21.46 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,778.35.