U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday, though by the end of the session they retreated from earlier highs amid declines in energy stocks and absence of clear progress in Greece's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 138.40 points, or 0.8%, to 17757.91. The Nasdaq Composite added 26.26 points, or 0.5%, to 5013.12 and the S&P 500 index gained 14.31 points, or 0.7%, to 2077.42 (data, which showed an increase of U.S. crude stockpiles, pushed energy shares down and wiped out some of the gains of the index).

Investors are waiting for Greek referendum (July the 5th) and U.S. payrolls data (Thursday, 12:30 GMT). Earlier reports have shown that U.S. private employers added 237,000 jobs in June, the best result since December.
This morning in Asia Shanghai Composite Index declined by 1.94%, or 78.57 points, to 3,975.12. Hong Kong Hang Seng gained 0.45%, or 118.44 points, to 26,368.47. Meanwhile the Nikkei added 1.12%, or 227.86 points, to 20,557.18.

Asian stocks mostly ignored concerns over Greece and advanced ahead of U.S. payrolls data anticipating a strong report. Shanghai Composite continued falling. It has lost almost a quarter since a June 12 peak.