Stocks enjoy a day of recovery

Major U.S. stock indexes mounted a solid comeback Wednesday, recovering their losses from the prior day and finishing on track for a weekly gain.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 158.75 points, or nearly 1 percent, its biggest gain in five weeks, to close the day at 16,533.06.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 15.20 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 1,888.03. The Nasdaq composite index added 34.65 points, or 0.9 percent, to finish at 4,131.54.

Small-company stocks also rebounded. The Russell 2000 index rose 5.73 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,103.63.

Without any major new economic data, investors focused on companies reporting quarterly earnings or otherwise garnering headlines.

Tiffany & Co. was a favorite early on, vaulting more than 9 percent on a sharp increase in earnings and revenue. Traders also cheered news of Netflix's plans to make a deeper foray into Europe, sending the Internet video service's shares up 5 percent.

Investors got a closer look at discussions held by the Federal Reserve's policymakers during their most recent meeting last month. Wall Street's reaction was muted, however, and the market kept the upward trajectory it set upon early.

"Since there was no real solid news to continue into a two-day sell-off, we're getting a little bit of a bounce today," said Joe Peta, a managing director of Novus.

All 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 rose, led by consumer discretionary and energy stocks.

Bond prices fell, driving the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note up to 2.54 percent, from 2.51 percent late Tuesday.

Meeting minutes released Wednesday shed little new light on a key question for investors: When will the Fed start raising interest rates?

Fed officials did discuss how to unwind the support the central bank has given the economy once they decide to begin raising the Fed's key short-term rate.

Because the economy is still recovering, most analysts don't think the Fed will start raising rates before the second half of 2015.

With a new batch of company earnings Wednesday, the market got a more detailed look at corporate America.

Tiffany said its earnings spiked 50 percent in the first quarter as worldwide sales jumped by double digits and the company raised its prices. Results beat analysts' expectations, and the jeweler raised its earnings forecast for the year. Tiffany's stock jumped $8.07, or 9.1 percent, to $96.30.

"Retail is very fickle right now, but some sectors are doing well, like luxury," said Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Palisade Capital Management.

Netflix shares rose $18.93, or 5.1 percent, to $390.60, after the company said it will expand into Germany, France and four other European countries later this year.