U.S. stocks closed more than 1.5 percent higher Wednesday, helped by gains in oil prices, as global markets recovered for a second day from their post-Brexit plunge.

"What I think people are grasping here is, this is a disaster for the U.K., but it's a big splash with small ripples," said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds.



The Dow Jones industrial average closed up nearly 285 points in its best percentage gain since March 1, with Boeing and Goldman Sachs contributing the most to gains as all constituents except Home Depot rose.

The Nasdaq composite outperformed with Microsoft up 2.2 percent and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) up more than 2 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures settled up $2.03, or 4.24 percent, at $49.88 a barrel. Oil extended gains after EIA weekly crude inventories showed a greater-than-expected drawdown of 4.05 million barrels. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported a greater-than-expected drawdown of 3.9 million barrels.

Gains in oil were also supported by expectations of near-term supply shortages. In Norway, oil workers threatened to strike, while in Venezuela oil producers and refiners struggled with power outages and equipment shortages.

Energy and health care led all S&P 500 advancers as all sectors rose. The index closed up 1.7 percent and held above its 200-day moving average.

With Wednesday's gains, both the Dow and S&P swung back into positive territory for 2016 as the major averages recovered more than half of their losses from the post Brexit sell-off. All three major indexes were pacing for weekly gains of more than 1.5 percent.