U.S. equities closed higher on Wednesday as investors digested the release of the Federal Reserve's October meeting minutes.

The minutes showed that many members of the Federal Open Market Committee believe a rates hike next month would be appropriate.

"That's not a surprise given what [Fed Chair Janet] Yellen said a couple of weeks ago," said Matt Tuttle, chief investment officer of Tuttle Tactical Management. "We need to convince them not to hike at this point."

The three major indexes hit their session highs following the release of the minutes, with the Nasdaq Composite outperforming.

"I think the market thinks [the Fed's] going to be very dovish in its trajectory," said Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG Investment Research.

The Nasdaq rose about 1.8 percent as the iShares Biotechnlogy ETF (iBB) gained nearly 3 percent.

Nasdaq intraday chartSource: FactSet

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 266.67 points at its highs, with Apple and Nike contributing most of the gains. The blue chips index also posted its best day since Oct. 22 and extended its winning streak to three days.

Apple's stock rose 3.17 percent after Goldman released a note saying the company's shares will rise 43 percent in the next 12 months.

The S&P 500 closed about its 200 day moving average for the first time since Nov. 11, as health care gained 2 percent.