Bulls chalk one up after late-day surge on Wall Street

By Noel Randewich (Reuters) - U.S. stocks mounted a late-session rally to close higher on Wednesday after an increase in oil prices helped reduce investors' fears about banks' vulnerability to energy companies struggling to pay their debts. Nine of the 10 major S&P sectors rose, with the materials index up 0.99 percent. The S&P energy sector gained 0.9 percent, trimming its loss in 2016 to 27 percent after U.S. crude futures settled nearly 1 percent higher. Crude prices near 2003 lows ha