NEW YORK – U.S. stocks are closing higher for the third day in a row, led by gains in energy companies following another big rise in the price of crude oil.

Chevron jumped 4 percent Wednesday, the biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial average. Technology stocks also did well. Facebook rose nearly 4 percent.

The Dow average rose 257 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,453.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 31 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,926. The Nasdaq composite climbed 98 points, or 2.2 percent, to 4,534.

A three-day rally in stocks has wiped out about half of the market’s loss since the beginning of the year.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.81 percent.