U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as Europe's progress toward bolstering its financial rescue fund brought more battle-weary investors back into the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 102.48 points, or 0.90 percent, to end unofficially at 11,518.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 11.71 points, or 0.98 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,207.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 21.70 points, or 0.84 percent, to close unofficially at 2,604.73.

At Wednesday's session high, the S&P 500 was up 13.5 percent from the intraday low hit last Tuesday.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)