Stocks turned higher after the Fed minutes of meetings showed that policy makers are willing to lift rates higher than anticipated by the market. 

The S&P 500 index 0.95% to 3,979.25 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.5% to 11,434.74. 

The Fed minutes of the meeting held on May 3-4 showed all participants agreed to the need of raising rates to tame inflation before it anchors deeper in the economy. 

"Most participants judged that 50 basis point increases in the target range would likely be appropriate at the next couple of meetings," the minutes noted. 

The policy committee also showed its willingness to move the rate stance to more restrictive if necessary.

" At present, participants judged that it was important to move expeditiously to a more neutral monetary policy stance. 

They also noted that a restrictive stance of policy may well become appropriate depending on the evolving economic outlook and the risks to the outlook," the minutes highlighted. 

The bond market did not find anything new in the minutes and the yield on 10-year Treasury notes were nearly unchanged at 2.743%. 

Crude oil advanced 98 cents to $110.73 a barrel and natural gas inched higher than $9 mBTU before closing at $8.87. 

The natural gas futures are trading at a 14-year high. 

Retail stocks were in focus after Ralph Lauren, Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters reported better-than-expected results but Dick's Sporting Goods lowered annual outlook. 

Retail stocks reversed the earlier decline after Kohl's indicated that participants are active in bidding for the company despite the current market volatility. 

Dick's Sporting Goods gained 9.7% to $78.14, Ralph Lauren advanced 3.3% to $94.13, Nordstrom increased 13.8% to $23.53, and Urban Outfitters jumped 15% to $20.82. 

Tech stocks also led the market rally after weeks of losses. 

Intuit Inc jumped 8.2% to $387.83, Docusign Inc gained 8% to $77.44, and Zoom Video soared 8.2% to $102.04. 

 After the close Nividia and Snowflake are scheduled to release earnings and the warehouse club Costco on Thursday. 

Toll Brothers increased 8.5% to $48.15 after the luxury home builder reported strong quarterly results and said backlog of home values surged 35% to $11.7 billion.