It was quite the choppy day with the Dow being down as much as 100 points in mid-session but then recovering to close 34 points up.  Really, there was no good reason for the earlier sell off so it should have been 130 points up.  Oil had another good day, once again reassuring investors that we are not heading into recession and that China's impact on the U.S. markets would be minimal.  Even the prospect of a Fed rate hike with all the good news lately did not faze anyone but was in fact taken as good news for a change as it (surprise, surprise) boosts bank stocks.  Continuing strong jobs data bolstered the view that the economy was in good shape and the Volatility Index closed at its lowest level for the year.  At 8.2 billion, volume was close to recent averages.

Markets | Wed Mar 2, 2016 4:52pm EST

Wall St. rises late, led by energy and bank shares

BY RODRIGO CAMPOS

DJ: 16,899.32  +34.24       NAS: 4,703.42  +13.83        S&P: 1,986.45  +8.10 

REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID

Energy and bank stocks led Wall Street higher on Wednesday, adding to a rally in the previous session, after strong jobs data dispelled concerns over the health of the U.S. economy.  Concern lingered that the U.S. economy was on a weaker footing than thought, but recent data including a better-than-expected reading on private sector job creation last month has helped dispel those worries and given equities support.

The improvement in U.S. economic data, including manufacturing, construction spending and auto sales earlier this week, rekindled expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise rates at least once later this year, giving a boost to bank shares.

"I’ve been encouraged by the economic numbers," said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager of Hodges Capital Management in Dallas, citing jobs and manufacturing data.

Crude prices hovered in and out of negative territory through the day but ended higher, with U.S. crude CLc1 reaching $35.17 at one point, its highest since Jan. 6.

"There's been so much pessimism around energy," said Bradshaw, "and in spite of that oil is near $35 (a barrel). When crude moves up it is telling the world, and particularly the U.S., is not going through a recession."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 34.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,899.32, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.1 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,986.45 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC added 13.83 points, or 0.29 percent, to 4,703.42.

The U.S. economy continues to show signs of recovery even as China and the euro zone continue to look for support from their central banks.

The upbeat view on U.S. stocks was evidenced in the CBOE Volatility index .VIX, a measure of anxiety among traders, which closed at its lowest level so far this year.

The materials sector was the worst performer on the S&P 500, weighed by a 7.8 percent drop in Monsanto shares (MON.N) after the agricultural products maker cut its earnings guidance.

The largest percentage gainer on the S&P 500 was Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N), which rose 23.2 percent, to $3.40.

The energy sector .SPNY rose 2.5 percent and financials .SPSY added 0.9 percent.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE and the Nasdaq by a ratio of 2-to-1. The S&P 500 posted 8 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 27 new lows.

Volume hit 8.26 billion shares, slightly below the daily average in the past 20 sessions of 8.83 billion.