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The S&P 500 enjoyed a third straight day in rally mode, while closing out the second quarter with gains of more than 1%. Crude closed with its best quarterly performance in seven years. S&P downgraded the European Union to a AA rating from AA . The credit rating firm said it reassessed its outlook following the U.K.'s exit vote. S&P and Fitch downgraded the U.K.'s rating on Monday. Hershey's board unanimously rejected a takeover offer from Mondelez International and showed no interest in any further discussion. Mondelez reportedly offered Hershey $107 a share. Visa was the worst performer on the Dow after a federal appeals court threw out a multi-billion dollar antitrust settlement. The case involved the credit-card company and Mastercard against numerous retailers.

U.S. stocks moved more confidently higher after Bank of England's Mark Carney backed further monetary easing in the wake of the Brexit decision. A three-day rally on Wall Street has been partially fueled by increased hopes of stimulus from the world's central banks. Economic activity in the Chicago area topped estimates in June with improvements seen in both production and new orders. Chicago PMI returned to expansion territory, rising to its best level since January 2015. Hershey rocketed to record highs on reports Mondelez International has made a takeover bid. Details of the offer are still emerging and no deal has been confirmed by either company. Seagate Technology announced plans to eliminate three percent of its workforce, or roughly 1,600 jobs. TheStreet's Keris Lahiff reports from Wall Street.

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, building on Tuesday's gains, as Brexit fears dissipated. Analysts said Brexit shouldn't affect U.S. economic growth. 'Our view is that it's a domestic issue,' said David Lebovitz, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, based in New York. 'This really matters for the UK and Europe - both economies are going to slowdown as a result.' Shares of Shire were on the rise after its ADHD treatment trial met various standards. The treatment will now be resubmitted to the Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, personal income in May rose 0.2 percent month-over-month, missing estimates of 0.3 percent. Consumer spending rose 0.4 percent, matching estimates. The core personal consumption expenditure price index gained 0.2 percent during the month, in line with estimates. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.

Stocks are in rally mode again today, trying to extend Tuesday's gains. Investors seem to be regaining confidence that the world won't fall apart due to Brexit. Oil is resuming its climb higher and European stocks also rose. Shares of Nike , though, are under pressure. In its earnings report last night, the sports apparel company said sales disappointed and future orders were disappointing as well. Analysts have said recently that Nike is losing ground to Germany's Adidas and domestic rival Under Armour . Nike says it expects sales this year to meet projections due to the Olympics and European soccer championship. Sony

The S&P 500 bounced back into positive territory for the year in day two of a post-Brexit recovery. Benchmark indexes closed with gains of more than 1%, while oil closed just cents from the $50-a-barrel mark. Netflix increased after a bullish analyst note from Pacific Crest. The firm said worries over Netflix's subscription growth were overdone. Pacific expects international growth to reaccelerate in the third quarter. Southwest Airlines unveiled a three-year $250-million plan to overhaul its technology. The updates could increase the airline's annual profit by $500 million by 2020. Finra fined Deutsche Bank $6 million for failing to provide accurate trade data in a timely manner.

Wall Street extended its comeback rally into day two, led by the energy and materials sectors. Stocks have recovered from around half of the losses sustained over a sharp two-day selloff beginning on Friday. Pending home sales in May fell at a far-steeper pace than analysts expected. The measure, which looks at contracts signed where the deal has not yet closed, fell for the first time in nearly two years. The drop was mainly driven by tight inventory and strong demand. Crude oil continued to push higher on Wednesday, recovering alongside equities. The commodity added to earlier gains after a sharp drop in domestic inventories. Crude stocks declined by just over four million barrels in the past week. Oracle climbed after JPMorgan upgraded to NEUTRAL from UNDERWEIGHT. The firm said it expects the software developer to perform well against easy comps.

Investors are coming to work today and seeing a Brexit bounce and a pound rebound. European stocks are higher along with the U.S. markets. The British pound is recovering after falling to a 31 year low Monday. All risk assets are higher, including oil and other commodities. Volkswagen is expected to announce a settlement with the nearly 500,000 U.S. diesel owners and government regulators over polluting vehicles is said to be valued at more than $15 billion in cash. The settlement will be announced today in Washington D.C. The deal is related to the automaker installing software in cars that allowed them to bypass emission laws. The $15 billion is the most expensive auto industry scandal in history. Nike

Stocks minimized some of the damage suffered since the Brexit vote rocked the finance world. The shock decision for the U.K. to exit the EU triggered selloffs that wiped out $3 trillion from global markets over Friday and Monday's session. Crude oil also rebounded alongside equities as traders saw an opportunity after days of extreme declines. West Texas Intermediate recaptured a level above $47 a barrel, partially recovering from its two-session drop. Shares of PayPal moved higher this afternoon on Twitter talk over takeover interest from MasterCard . Neither company commented on speculation. Dick's Sporting Goods was placed on Goldman Sachs' conviction buy list. The firm said Dick's was best position to reap the benefits from the closing of Sports Authority stores.

Stocks recovered from a two-day selloff as the shock of the Brexit vote faded and hopes of further stimulus rose. A bounce in crude oil prices led the energy sector in a rally. Consumer confidence in the U.S. improved in June at a faster pace than analysts expected, reaching its best level since October. The improvement bodes well for higher consumer spending in coming months. ReachLocal soared after receiving a $156 million buyout offer from Gannett . The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Dow Chemical plans to cut 4% of its workforce over the next two years as part of its DuPont merger. The layoffs will be primarily in its manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Japan.

U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday, after two straight sessions of declines, stemming from last week's historic Brexit vote. Markets were lifted by accommodative remarks from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. Meanwhile, first quarter GDP was revised higher, showing the economy grew 1.1 percent, beating estimates of 1 percent and a few notches higher than the previously reported 0.8 percent growth. Consumer spending rose 1.5 percent during the quarter. Finally, shares of Lending Club rose after the company announced it was cutting 179 jobs amid a fall in loan volumes. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.