Oil prices rose on Wednesday, along with robust energy stocks, which extended gains during the day as market worries over potential financial volatility were eased by some positive news.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery increased by 2.32 U.S. dollars to settle at 56.26 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and Brent crude for November delivery rose by 2.44 U.S. dollars to close at 60.70 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The Cboe Volatility index, widely considered the best fear gauge in the stock market, decreased by 11.85 percent to 17.33 on Wednesday.

The energy sector surged by nearly 1.4 percent as of market close, among the best performers of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, all of which notched gains on Wednesday.

Specifically, shares of Exxon Mobil and Chevron rallied by 1.06 and 0.84 percent respectively, among the best performers in the 30 blue-chip stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.