Stocks rose for a fourth session on Wednesday, carried by gains in Alphabet (GOOG  ) following its strong quarterly earnings results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 200 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.9% and 0.5% higher, respectively.

Google-parent Alphabet's quarterly earnings beat expectation on both its top and bottom lines, and the company announced a 20-for-1 stock split--a move that might lead the company to be included on the Dow soon.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.94% or +42.84 points to 4,589.38

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.63% or +224.09 points to 35,629.33

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.50% or +71.54 points to 14,417.55

PayPal closes down 24% in worst trading session ever:

PayPal (PYPL  ) shares fell by more than 25% at session lows on Wednesday, after the payments company posted disappointing quarterly earnings results and weak guidance that the company blamed in part on inflation. PayPal closed the trading down down 24%, marking its worst session ever.

PayPal reported mixed Q4 results after market close on Tuesday, beating on revenue expectations with a total of $6.92 billion, but missing earnings estimates for $1.12 with an earnings per share of $1.11. The company also said it expects revenue to grow by about 15% to 17% for full-year 2022, missing analysts' expectations for year-over-year growth of 17.9%.

January's private payrolls disappoint, Omicron impact:

U.S. private payrolls fell for the first time in over a year in January as the Omicron variant impacted high-contact jobs.

Private sector employment fell by 301,000 in January, according to ADP's monthly report published Wednesday, declining for the first time since December 2020. Last month's reading followed 776,000 payrolls added in December 2021.

By industry, leisure and hospitality jobs fell by more than 150,000 in January, giving back some gains from the sector's slow recovery. Other declines were seen in trade, transportation and utilities jobs, falling by 62,000; education and health services jobs dropped by 15,000; and manufacturing and construction jobs fell by 21,000 and 10,000, respectively.

Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after open:

S&P 500 Index: +0.52% or +23.72 points to 4,570.26

Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.18% or -64.52 points to 35,340.72

Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.80% or +115.44 points to 14,471.75