U.S. stock markets soared on Wednesday, recovering from a Christmas Eve trading day that was the worst in the history of the Dow Jones.

The Dow Jones closed up 1,086, or 5 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 116 points, also 5 percent, defying a bear market.

The spike represented the highest-ever single-day point increase for the Dow, and its best daily percentage gain since 2009.

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By some measures, the S&P entered a bear market on Monday, ending a 10-year bull run. But Wednesday's stock jump put that milestone aside, at least temporarily.

The performance follows reports from MasterCard saying that holiday spending was the strongest in six years and from Amazon that it sold a record number of items during the holiday season.

The positive day of trading was the latest sign of extreme volatility in a market that continues to surprise. Markets are still in the red for all of 2018, and without a course correction are on track to have their worst December in 87 years.

Rising interest rates, slowing global growth, concerns about U.S. economic performance retreating, a turbulent trade war and an ongoing government shutdown have all added to market concerns.