Major US stock indexes closed higher Wednesday. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35 points, or 0.1%, to 35,754.

The S&P 500 added 14 points, or 0.31%, to 4,701.

The Nasdaq soared 100 points, or 0.64%, to 15,787.

Despite climbing above the critical 30 level twice last week, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, fell 9.1% to 19.90.

The dollar index was down 0.48% to 95.91, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes gained 3.14% to 1.526%.

Precious metals were down slightly, with gold losing 0.04% to $1,783 an ounce and silver falling 0.3% to $22.44.

Crude prices were up around 0.8%, with Brent crude trading at $76.05 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $72.65./aa