At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.33%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.41%.
Energy stocks brought broader equities indices up higher on fears the U.S. and the U.K. are moving closer to launching military strikes against selected Syrian targets into response to reports Damascus has used chemical weapons on its civil war.
British Prime Minister David Cameron drafted a United Nations resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria while "authorizing necessary measures to protect civilians" on Wednesday.
The U.N. Security Council was studying draft language, and with a veto possibly to come from Syrian allies Russia and China resulting in a deadlock, U.S. and U.K. policymakers were expected to look for ways to justify military strikes without a U.N. mandate.
Talk that attacks could come in a matter of days did repel some investors away from equities as did soft housing data.
Elsewhere in the U.S., the National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. pending home sales fell 1.3% in July, more than consensus forecasts for a 0.5% fall after a 0.4% loss in June.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Hewlett-Packard, up 2.82%, Chevron, up 2.42%, and Exxon Mobil, up 2.34%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Procter & Gamble, down 1.42%, Microsoft, down 0.93%, and Verizon, down 0.81%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.24%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.21%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 1.03%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.17%.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to publish revised second-quarter gross domestic product growth rates as well as a weekly report on initial jobless claims.
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