A look at highlights from the day's business news:

September surprise: Stocks soar

The bulls are back on Wall Street. After a bearish August, stocks roared into September with a major rally Wednesday, as investors cheered signs of strength in the manufacturing sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 256 points, or 2.2 percent. The S&P 500 (SPX) soared 31 points, or 2.9 percent. The Nasdaq (COMP) composite rallied 63 points, or 3 percent.

Stocks rallied right out of the gate as investors welcomed a rebound in Chinese manufacturing and robust economic growth in Australia. The advance kicked into high gear following an unexpectedly strong report on U.S. manufacturing activity.

Oil roars into September 'like a lion'

After ending August in a slump, oil prices surged into September, rallying nearly 3 percent Wednesday as the economic outlook brightened.

"August was the worst month for oil since last May, with oil bulls really getting beat up as economic data started to turn South," said said Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at PFG Best. "But we went out of August like a lamb and into September like a lion."

Disappointing reports on housing, jobs and economic activity dragged oil prices 9 percent lower last month as investors worried about the health of the economy and global demand for oil.

But sentiment took a turn for the better on the first day of September, with oil prices rebounding after a better-than-expected report on manufacturing eased jitters.

Treasurys fall on upbeat manufacturing data

Investors eased away from safe-haven Treasurys Wednesday, sending prices lower and yields higher after strong manufacturing data out of both the U.S. and China spurred optimism about the global economy.

In late trading, the benchmark 10-year note yielded 2.58 percent, up from 2.48 percent late Tuesday. The shorter term 2-year note yielded 0.51 percent, the 5-year note yielded 1.41 percent, and the 30-year bond yielded 3.65 percent.

A report showed U.S. manufacturing grew in August for the 13th consecutive month, at a faster pace than economists had expected. The report further curbed the safe-haven appeal of government debt, lending more impetus to an already downward trend for bond prices Wednesday.

- CNNMoney.com reporters Annalyn Censky, Blake Ellis and Ben Rooney contributed to this report.