NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks hovered at session highs late Thursday, rebounding from losses sustained over the past two days. 

The S&P 500 was up 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2%, and the Nasdaq added 0.7%.

Markets have been pressured for much of the week as investors process the likelihood the Federal Reserve will raise rates sooner than later. Wall Street is preparing for the Fed to remove its "patient" language from its release in a two-day meeting next Tuesday, a signal that could mean a mid-summer rate hike.

"A degree of it is just anxiety around change," said U.S. Bank Wealth Management's Eric Wiegand on market jitters ahead of next week's meeting. "Investors have become very accustomed to the absolute level of support that they're getting from monetary policy... They're still concerned that rate increases will be either premature or of a magnitude that will have an adverse impact on economic activity."

The financial sector rose after passing round two of the Federal Reserve's stress tests largely unscathed. Citigroup (C) - Get Report and Morgan Stanley (MS) - Get Report were among the biggest winners after reporting better-than-forecast buyback programs. Gains at Bank of America (BAC) - Get Report were limited after the bank was told to resubmit its capital plan.

The Select Sector Financial SPDR ETF (XLF) - Get Report jumped 1.7%.

The energy sector saw limited gains, though, pressured by a slide in crude oil. Crude resumed its slide despite a reprieve in the U.S. dollar's two-day rally that sent it to 12-year highs against other currencies. West Texas Intermediate was down 2.3% to $47.07 a barrel, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) - Get Report fell 0.5%. 

The greenback slipped 0.6% against the euro, 1.2% against the Aussie dollar, and 0.37% against the Swiss franc.

Intel (INTC) - Get Report was dragging on the Nasdaq after first-quarter revenue guidance was slashed to $12.3 billion to $13.3 billion, below previous forecasts of $13.2 billion to $14.2 billion. The chip company cited "weaker-than-expected demand for business desktop PCs." Shares were down 4.7%.

U.S. retail sales slumped 0.6% in February after a 0.8% drop a month earlier and a 0.9% decrease in December. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase as savings in gas prices translated to higher consumer spending. Core retail sales, excluding auto and gas, dropped 0.8%.

"While disappointing, much of the weakness in February retail sales likely reflected the effect of extreme winter weather that may have kept shoppers at home in the month," said RBC Economics economist Nathan Janzen. If "this is the case, the slowing reflects delayed rather than lost sales, with a likely rebound in March provided that temperatures warm closer to seasonal normals."

Lumber Liquidators (LL) - Get Report resumed trading after being halted during a conference call to address product safety issues. Shares jumped 9.7% after CEO Rob Lynch assured investors the company's products were safe, despite a damning report from 60 Minutes earlier in the month.

Dow component United Technologiesundefined spiked 2.2%. The aerospace company is considering splitting off its Sikorsky Aircraft helicopter unit, TheWall Street Journal reported. The unit had 2014 revenue of $6.6 billion.

Dollar General (DG) - Get Report added 3.3% after meeting fourth-quarter expectations. Same-store sales jumped 4.9% over the quarter. Full-year sales growth was expected to increase 8% to 9% with EPS growth of 10% to 13%.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) - Get Report tanked 21.2% after announcing it will postpone its Nuplazid drug application to the second half of the year. The company had previously expected to file for the Parkinson's disease drug in the first quarter.