Dow up 113 points, its first gain of the quarter

The Dow Jones industrial average notched a gain of more than 100 points Wednesday as Wall Street saw its first positive day of the fourth quarter after back-to-back losses to kick off the final three-month stretch of 2016.

The Dow climbed 113 points, or 0.6%, after dropping 85 points Tuesday and sliding 54 points Monday. The Dow entered Wednesday's session down 0.8% in the fourth quarter.

The broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index ended 0.4% higher and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5%.

Wednesday's gains were driven by a strong rally in the oil patch. The price of U.S.-produced crude gained more than 2% and was getting close to breaking the $50 per barrel level.

A spate of solid economic news also got investors in a buying mood. A key measure of the U.S. services sector of the economy shot up more than expected in September, signaling the U.S. economy remains healthy. Barclays now sees the U.S. economy growing at a 2.7% clip on the just-ended third quarter, up from the slow 1% pace in the first half of 2016.

Service sector reports fastest growth in nearly a year

Wall Street has been navigating a number of storylines that is creating uncertainty and, as a result, has made them less aggressive on stocks. A few Federal Reserve speakers Tuesday reiterated that the U.S. central bank could move to hike interest rates for the first time in 2016 later this year.

The European Central Bank, according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday, has also discussed the possibility of scaling back its bond-buying program earlier than expected. Both news items have Wall Street wondering if central banks are moving away from the easy-money policies that provided key support to markets for years.

On Wall Street: Gridlock is good for stocks

Investors are still closely watching the presidential election for possible twists and changes in polling numbers between front-runner Hillary Clinton and Republican challenger Donald Trump. Wall Street is also watching how negotiations between the U.S. Department of Justice and German lender Deutsche Bank plays out.

Eyes were again on the British pound, which hit a fresh 31-year low vs. the dollar earlier today before edging into positive territory as currency traders react to the coming start of negotiations in next year's first quarter between Britain and the European Union related to Brexit.