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Stocks end higher as Treasury yields dip, Apple falls

STORY: U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday after more than a week of heavy selling that left the S&P 500 at its lowest close since late 2020.

The Dow rose more than 500 points to finish roughly 1.9% higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained about 2%.

Stocks got some help after the Bank of England said it would step in to buy British bonds in an effort to calm volatile markets that had pushed the British pound to record lows against the dollar.

Geetu Sharma, founder and investment manager at AlphasFuture, said the move by the BoE eased investor fears of contagion across the financial system.

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"I think the market is seeing that central banks will intervene in the event of market dislocation or financial stability concerns and the central banks cannot let this hawkishness that they've been demonstrating lead to any kind of dislocation, disruption in the financial markets and they will have to intervene. So it's giving hope to investors that there is the monetary policy that can come into play in the event of a big crisis or a big crash."

Shares of Apple fell after Bloomberg reported the company is dropping plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize.

Meanwhile, its Big Tech peers jumped with Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Platforms all posting big gains -- The rate-sensitive stocks getting a boost from a falling 10-year Treasury yield, which notched its biggest one-day drop since 2009.

Shares of Biogen surged nearly 40% after saying its experimental Alzheimer's drug, developed with Japanese partner Eisai, succeeded in slowing cognitive decline.

That also lifted shares of rival Eli Lilly, which is also developing an Alzheimer's drug.