NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks roared back to life on Wednesday, shaking off 4 straight routs following strong retail sales data and White House reassurances that Fed Chair Jerome Powell won't be fired.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up nearly 1,100 points, or about 5 percent, at 22,878.45.

The broad-based S&P 500 also surged 5 percent to 2,467.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 5.8 percent to 6,554.36.

The US gains were the biggest for a single session on Wall Street in 9 years, a surge analysts attributed in part to technical factors after days of selling.

"It's coming off of oversold conditions and it was frankly due for a bounce," said Matt Miskin, market strategist at John Hancock Investments.

"Sentiment can be fickle in times like these, so it's important to not get whipsawed."

Still, the session was not without its shaky moments. After opening solidly higher, the Dow briefly sank into the red in mid-morning before recovering and gathering steam throughout the day.

Earlier, Tokyo closed higher on Wednesday, logging its first positive finish in 6 sessions. Chinese stocks closed slightly lower, while Seoul also dropped.

Financial markets in Australia, Hong Kong were closed for a public holiday, along with bourses in London, Paris and Frankfurt.

MORE WEAKNESS AHEAD?

Many investors have been unnerved by a variety of factors, including the partial US government shutdown, the US-China trade war and Trump's ongoing criticism of Fed Chair Powell.

The sense of bearishness among investors is "just huge," said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

"From a tactical standpoint, you can expect a reflex rally," said Canaccord Genuity equity strategist Tony Dwyer in a note released ahead of Wednesday's session. "But it is hard to find an extreme oversold low that is not retested."

Yet some analysts have argued that the stock market's weakness in December has been disproportionate to economic conditions at a time when unemployment is low and growth is still solid.

"Our judgment is that the US economy remains solid at the moment," though investors need to pay attention to the possible impact of US trade rows with other countries on financial markets and business outlooks, said a report by Norio Miyagawa, senior economist at Mizuho Securities.

"As financial markets regain their calm, we expect US stocks and the dollar will track higher," he said.

Data from Mastercard SpendingPulse showed US holiday sales increased 5.1 percent this holiday season to more than $850 billion, the biggest growth in the last six years.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett sought to reassure on Powell's prospects, telling ABC News the Fed chief is "100 percent" safe. The remarks followed weekend media reports that US President Donald Trump has discussed firing Powell.

Analysts also took heart from a nearly 9 percent jump in US oil prices, the biggest in more than two years and another bounce back following recent weakness in petroleum markets.

Retailers were especially strong, with Amazon soaring 9.5 percent after declaring that its notched new records in holiday sales, fueled by "tens of millions" of new subscriptions or free trials of its Prime service.

Petroleum-linked shares also had a good session, with Chevron winning 6.3 percent and Halliburton 5.1 percent following the rally in oil prices.

KEY FIGURES AROUND 6 A.M. MANILA TIME

New York - Dow: UP 5.0 percent at 22,878.45 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 5.0 percent at 2,467.70 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 5.8 percent at 6,554.36 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei: - UP 0.9 percent at 19,327.06 (close)

Hong Kong: CLOSED

Shanghai - composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 2,498.29 (close)

Paris, London, Frankfurt: CLOSED

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1352 from $1.1392 at 2200 GMT Tuesday

Dollar/yen: UP at 111.33 from 110.31

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2637 from $1.2675

Oil - Brent Crude: UP $3.98 cents at $54.45 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP $3.69 at $46.22 per barrel