Crude's surge leads Wall Street higher

U.S. stock indices rose on Wednesday, buoyed by sharply higher oil prices, which jumped by 8% as OPEC finalizes a production deal to cut production during its current meeting in Vienna. 

Crude's surge came following bullish statements from Saudi and Iranian oil ministers about nearing an agreement to cut production. 

Energy shares led Wall Street higher, with the indices boosted further by a string of strong data, as private sector jobs rose more than expected this month, boding well for the coming official payrolls report. 

Housing data also kept improving, which points to the economy's strength and upbeat growth rates, in turn helping Wall Street. 

Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.24%, or 5.24 points to 2,209.90, while Dow Jones added 0.27%, or 50.78 points to 19,172.38. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ slid 0.27%, or 14.71 points to 5,365.20.