There was a boost from oil prices which reversed early losses to trade higher.
US crude added 2.8% to trade at $33.05 a barrel, following confirmation of a meeting between major oil producers next month. That lifted oil shares: Exxon Mobil finished 0.6% higher.
By the close the Dow Jones was up 212 points or 1.3% to 16,697. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% to 1,929.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index climbed 0.9% points to 4,582.
Earlier in the session there had been better-than-expected manufacturing data.
Figures from the Commerce Department showed orders for durable goods - long-lasting manufactured products - rose by 4.9% in January.
The increase was the biggest since March last year, and beat forecasts for a 2.5% gain.
Shares in cloud software company Salesforce jumped nearly 11% after its quarterly revenues beat expectations.
Fourth quarter revenues rose 25.3% to $1.81bn, and the company also increased its full-year sales forecast.
(Close): US shares pushed higher through the afternoon to close with healthy gains.