NEW YORK, KOMPAS.com — Stocks surged Wednesday for the second time in three days as investors pounced on more evidence that the economy might not be as sickly as some had feared.  Major stock indicators jumped about 3 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which rose 257 points.
   
Strong earnings and an upbeat forecast from Intel Corp. and a more favorable take on the economy from the Federal Reserve pulled investors into the stock market. Stocks also rallied Monday after an influential banking analyst raised her target on Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
   
The stock market had drifted lower over the past month as hopes faded that the economy would stage a quick recovery. Stocks soared in March and April as glimmers of hope from banks and economic indicators stoked hopes for a turnaround this year. But with little new evidence of improvement since then, investors began to worry last month that they had been too hasty in concluding that the economy was bottoming out.
   
The handful of reports this week from big companies are injecting the stalled rally with new energy because corporate profits are the ultimate driver of stock prices. The latest encouragement came from Intel, the giant computer chip maker whose much better results suggested that computer sales — and perhaps capital investment in general — is picking up faster than had been expected.
   
Investors also latched onto a report showing that industrial companies cut production far less in June than they had in previous months. The Federal Reserve said output at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities slipped 0.4 percent last month after sliding 1.2 percent in May.
   
Traders found more good news when the Fed released minutes from its June meeting later Wednesday saying it now expects the economy to contract at a slower pace than previously thought.
   
“What we’re seeing is some confirmation that stabilization is in fact upon us,” said Matthew Kaufler, portfolio manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisors in Rochester, New York “At least right now investors are willing to say it’s not going to be as bad as feared.”
   
The Dow jumped 256.72, or 3.1 percent, to 8,616.21, its third straight gain.  The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 26.84, or 3 percent, to 932.68, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 63.17, or 3.5 percent, to 1,862.90.