US stocks climbed for a second straight day on Wednesday amid upbeat earnings reports and after a Federal Reserve report said the economy continued to grow, at least at a modest pace.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added a hefty 102.71 points (0.80 per cent) to 12,908.25 in closing trade.

The S&P 500-stock index climbed 9.08 (0.67 per cent) to 1372.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq surged 32.56 (1.12 per cent) to 2942.60.

The Fed’s Beige Book report said that “overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace in June and early July,” offering reassurance to investors worried about a recent run of disappointing indicators.

Sentiment also was lifted by quarterly earnings reports from Bank of America, Intel and Yahoo! that beat Wall Street expectations.