NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, as investors continued to digest corporate earnings reports and economic data, while keeping an eye on geopolitical developments and trade tensions.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 317.24 points, or 0.71, to 44,873.28. The S&P 500 gained 23.60 points, or 0.39 percent, reaching 6,061.48, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 38.31 points, or 0.19 percent, to settle at 19,692.33.

Among the S&P 500 sectors, eight out of eleven finished in positive territory. Real estate and technology led the gains, rising 1.59 percent and 1.57 percent, respectively. However, communication services and consumer discretionary stocks underperformed, with losses of 2.79 percent and 1.59 percent, respectively.

The latest economic data showed a slowdown in the services sector, with the U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropping to 52.8 percent in January, down from a seasonally adjusted 54 percent in December. Business activity also softened, with the Business Activity Index registering 54.5 percent, a decline from December's 58 percent, according to the latest Services ISM Report On Business.

The S&P 500 gained ground as traders focused on the better-than-expected ADP Employment Change report, said Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire.

The ADP report showed that private businesses added 183,000 jobs in January, compared to forecast consensus of 153,000.

Among major corporate earnings, Advanced Micro Devices reported strong revenue growth in its data-center business but fell short of analyst expectations, causing its shares to drop 6.27 percent. Walt Disney posted gains in its streaming business and box office success with "Moana 2," yet its shares slipped 2.44 percent as the company did not raise its earnings forecast.

Alphabet saw its stock tumble 6.94 percent after a slowdown in Google's cloud-computing sales led to the lowest revenue growth rate since 2023. Uber also faced investor disappointment, with shares declining 7.56 percent as the ride-hailing company's operating income came in below expectations. ■