Facebook shares rose more than 12% even though more than 800 millions shares became available to be sold. Like many initial public offerings, Facebook's May 18 debut included a "lockup" agreement that requires some shareholders from selling for a certain period. On Wednesday, some employees and investors got their first chance to sell about 773 million shares, as well as another 31 million restricted stock units.

Shares of retailer Abercrombie & Fitch shot up 32% after the company reported sales and earnings that blew past expectations, and raised its full-year earnings guidance above even the most bullish forecasts.

Staples shares rose after the company beat third-quarter earnings estimates but fell short on revenue.

Cisco shares rose about 5% after the tech giant reported earnings and sales data that beat analysts' expectations late Tuesday.

Toyota Motor edged lower after the Japanese automaker announced Wednesday that it is recalling 2.77 million cars worldwide. The recall mainly covers certain Prius models. About 670,000 of the recalled cars were sold in the United States.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, but rose versus the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for December delivery added 94 cents to end at $86.32 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $5.30 to settle at $1,730.10 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was unchanged, with the yield holding steady at 1.59%.