Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 21, 2009.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, January 21, 2009.

NEW YORK, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Led by financial sector, U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday on upbeat earnings reports from IBM, Northern Trust and PNC Financial Services.

Shares of International Business Machines (IBM) jumped over 11 percent after the technology services company posted stronger profit and outlook surpassed Wall Street's expectations.

Earnings from two financial companies, Northern Trust Corp and PNC Financial Services Group, stirred strong rebound in financial sector after a heavy sell-off Tuesday.

Bank of America shares climbed 31 percent after Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis purchased 200,000 common shares, four days after the company posted its largest quarterly loss in 17 years.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 279.01 points, or 3.51 percent, to 8,228.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 35.02 points, or 4.35 percent, to 840.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 66.21 points, or 4.60 percent, to 1,507.07.