The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent to 2,506.88, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.8 percent to 6,629.10. US stocks have risen the last two sessions, recovering some of the losses from a bruising December that has seen investors flee equities amid a range of issues, including a US government shutdown, higher Federal Reserve interest rates and forecasts for slowing growth in 2019 and a possible recession in 2020.
The normally-sleepy period between Christmas and New Year's typically sets conditions for a "Santa Claus" rally, when stocks float higher in lightly-traded sessions. However, trading data suggest volume this year is busier than usual as stocks have gyrated.
Among individual companies, Tesla Motors rose 2.4 percent after announcing that it named Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Walgreens Boots Alliance Executive Vice President Kathleen Wilson-Thompson to its board of directors, completing the requirements of a US settlement of fraud charges involving Chief Executive Elon Musk.