Wall Street opens sharply higher led by energy shares

• Energy Index gains nearly 2% on Wednesday on rising crude oil prices.
• Defensive sectors underperform amid upbeat market mood.

Wall Street's main indexes opened the day sharply higher on Wednesday boosted by the strong risk appetite amid heightened hopes of a possible breakthrough in coronavirus treatment. Additionally, the ADP Employment Change registered its highest reading since May 2015 at 291,000 to provide an additional boost to market sentiment.

Energy shares lead the rally

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.

Among the 11-major S&P 500 Sectors, the Energy Index is up 2.2% on the day supported by a 4% recovery witnessed in crude oil prices.

On the other hand, defensive sectors, Utilities and Real Estate, are posting modest daily losses to reflect the upbeat market mood, which could also be seen in the 3% drop in the CBOE Volatility Index.