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Stocks rose across the board on Wednesday, with the Dow hitting an intraday high, thanks to a pair of better-than-expected economic reports and ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's policy statement later in the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 57 points? higher in early afternoon trading, boosted by Bank of America and Hewlett-Packard. The blue-chip index was up more than 100 at its session high, setting a fresh intraday record of 15,634.32.
The S&P 500 also climbed and the Nasdaq gained to hit its best level since October 2000. All three major averages are on track for their best July performances since 2010.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded above 13.
Among key S&P sectors, consumer discretionary and energy led the gainers, while utilities slid.
All eyes will be on the Federal Reserve's policy statement following a two-day meeting. The Fed was expected to maintain its accommodative monetary policy, but investors will be looking for hints on when the central bank might start scaling back its monthly bond-buying program.
(Read more: Wall St.: Fall taper mostly priced in)
"We don't really expect to make a big change in announcement, but of course everyone will be reading between the lines to see whether the Fed will start tapering at the end of this year or early next year," said Yu-Dee Chang, chief trader at ACE Investment Strategists.
On the economic front, U.S. economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter, with the GDP growing at a 1.7 percent annual rate, up from the first-quarter's downwardly revised 1.1 percent expansion pace, according to the Commerce Department. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy growing at a 1.0 percent pace.
And private employers added 200,000 jobs in July, topping economists' expectations in an encouraging sign for the labor market recovery. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 180,000 jobs.
(Read more: Big jobs number coming? Data firm says just 23,000)
The ADP report came ahead of the widely-watched government jobs data, due at the end of the week. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect non-farm payrolls to have risen 184,000 in July.
In another upbeat sign for the economy, the pace of business activity in the Midwest picked up modestly in July, with the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer rising to 52.3 from 51.6, though it fell short of economists' expectations for an increase to 54.0. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
And U.S. labor costs rose 0.5 percent in the second quarter, according to the Labor Department. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of 0.4 percent.
About 60 percent of S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly results so far, with 67 percent of firms exceeding earnings expectations and about 55 topping revenue estimates, according to the latest data from Thomson Reuters.
Asian and European shares were mixed ahead of the Fed announcement. The Japanese Nikkei widened losses as dollar-yen fell below the 98-handle in afternoon trade on Wednesday, as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings. The Nikkei has been steadily declining since hitting a two-month high at 14,953 points on July 19.
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