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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks jumped 1% early Wednesday, driven by shares of banks and technology companies, as worries about Europe's debt crisis eased.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was up 131 points, or 1.1%, near midday. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 14 points, or 1%. The Nasdaq rose 26 points, or 0.9%.

Financial stocks were leading the rally, with shares of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) up between 2% and 4%.

Traders said bank stocks were supported by expectations that a highly anticipated IPO filing by Facebook could signal a rebound in capital markets activity.

Meanwhile, the technology sector was supported by shares of semiconductor companies, which got a lift following strong quarterly results from Broadcom.

Shares of multinationals in the materials and industrial sector were supported by a weaker U.S. dollar, with Alcoa, (AA, Fortune 500) Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and MMM (MMM, Fortune 500) all rising.

A key index of U.S. manufacturing activity came in slightly below expectations, but still signaled expansion in the sector. Earlier reports showed manufacturing activity picked up in China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, investors welcomed signs that talks in Greece are progressing on a second bailout and a write down of the nation's private-sector debt load. In the bond market, yields on Portuguese government bonds eased after the nation drew strong demand for an auction of short-term bills.

"As long as Europe doesn't implode, it seems like the market wants to go higher," said David Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams.

The other big news Wednesday looks likely to be Facebook's long-awaited IPO filing. According to reports from outlets including the New York Times and CNBC, Facebook is seeking to raise up to $5 billion in its offering.

If that number is correct, Facebook would by far be the largest global IPO by an Internet-focused company, according to data from Dealogic. Some experts have suggested that the social network could be valued between $75 billion and $100 billion once it starts trading, which will likely happen a few months after its initial filing.

U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range Tuesday, after worse-than-expected U.S. housing and manufacturing data tempered the modest enthusiasm over Europe's progress on a new pact aimed at promoting fiscal discipline.

World markets: European stocks closed higher. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) added 1.8%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany gained 2.5% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) rose 2%.

Asian markets ended most lower. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) fell 1.1%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong dropped 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) was flat.

Economy: The ISM, a purchasing managers group, said its manufacturing index for January rose to 54.1 from 53.1 in December. The index was expected to stand at 54.5, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Meanwhile, a report on December construction spending is expected to show an increase in 0.4%, versus the month prior.

A report from payroll processor ADP showed that the private sector added 170,000 jobs in January. The report was expected to show that 200,000 jobs were added last month,down from the revised gains of 292,000 the month prior.

Companies: NYSE Euronext (NYX, Fortune 500) announced early Wednesday that it will terminate its merger agreement with Deutsche Boerse. The proposed $10 billion takeover of the operator of the New York Stock Exchange would have created the world's largest exchange, but was quashed by European officials.

Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) is recalling 1 million packs of birth control pills, after the pharmaceutical giant discovered that some blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets, and that the tablets may be out of sequence. Birth control pills typically have to be taken in sequence to be effective.

Shares of Tupperware (TUP) fell after the company reported earnings per share that fell 3 cents short of forecasts. Hershey's (HSY, Fortune 500) shares edged lower after the chocolate maker reported earnings and sales in line with estimates.

Whirlpool (WHR, Fortune 500) shares rose after the company beat Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue.

Broadcom's (BRCM, Fortune 500) stock also got a boost after the semiconductor firm reported slightly better results and issued a brighter outlook.

Two years after its bankruptcy and U.S. bailout, Chrysler Group posted 2011 net income of $183 million, its first annual profit since 2005. Although the company is no longer publicly traded, its results boosted shares of its competitors, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Ford (F, Fortune 500).

Shares of online retailer Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) plunged after the company reported quarterly revenue late Tuesday that missed analysts' estimates. But the company beat profit expectations.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for March delivery fell 22 cents to $98.26 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery rose $8.60 to $1,749.00 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.83% from 1.80% late Tuesday.  

First Published: February 1, 2012: 9:40 AM ET