NEW YORK, July 22 (Xinhua) - U.S. stocks ended Wednesday's volatile session higher as investors digested a slew of latest earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 165.44 points, or 0.62 percent, to 27,005.84. The S&P 500 rose 18.72 points, or 0.57 percent, to 3,276.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 25.76 points, or 0.24 percent, to 10,706.13. 

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask passes in front of the Nasdaq MarketSite in the Times Square neighborhood of New York, U.S., on Monday, July 20, 2020. (Photo:CFP)

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher with utilities up 1.53 percent, leading the gainers. Energy slid 1.34 percent, the worst-performing group.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded roughly lower, with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

On the earnings side, United Airlines shares dipped more than 4 percent after the company reported a net loss of 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter and an 87 percent year-over-year revenue slump due to the coronavirus impact.

Shares of Microsoft finished up 1.44 percent. The U.S. tech giant reported quarterly results after Wednesday's close, with earnings of 1.46 U.S. dollars per share and a 13-percent increase in revenue to 38 billion dollars.

The market gains were somewhat capped as investors remain cautious amid the surging coronavirus cases in the United States.

"It is too early to declare that the new bull market has arrived, as the United States and the world are by no means out-of-the-woods on the pandemic or the economic downturn," Mitch Zacks, CEO at Zacks Investment Management, said in a note on Wednesday.