The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 83.86 points, or 0.58 percent, to end at 14,539.14, led by Hewlett-Packard and IBM led the gainers, logging its first 10th-consecutive winning streak for the first time since November 1996.

The blue-chip index is up a cool 10 percent so far in 2013, on track to logging its best first-quarter performance since 1998. Historically, a strong first quarter indicates robust gains for the year. Since 1950, there have been only 12 other instances where the Dow was up more than 8 percent in the first quarter and in each of those years, the index finished positive 100 percent of the time.

The S&P 500 rose 8.71 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 1,563.23. The Nasdaq gained 13.81 points, or 0.43 percent, to finish at 3,258.93.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended near 11, falling to a six-year low.

All key S&P sectors finished higher, led by energy and techs.