Stocks rose solidly in early trading Wednesday as investors regained an appetite for risk after two days of heavy losses.
The sharp drops, which wiped out the market's gains for the year, were brought on by worries over economic fallout from the virus outbreak that originated in China.
The virus continues to spread and threatens to hurt industrial production, consumer spending, and travel. More cases are being reported in Europe and the Middle East. Health officials in the U.S. have been warning Americans to prepare for the virus.
Investors are setting aside some of their concerns for the time being and bid up technology stocks. Microsoft rose 1.5 percent and Adobe rose 1.8 percent. The tech sector was among the worst hit by sell-offs this week as many of the companies rely on global sales and supply chains that could be stifled by the spreading coronavirus.
Health care companies also climbed. UnitedHealth Group rose 1.9 percent.
Bond prices fell and pushed yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.36 percent from 1.33 percent late Tuesday.
TJX, the parent of retailer TJ Maxx, surged 7.7 percent after beating Wall Street's fourth-quarter profit forecasts and raising its dividend.
Utilities and real estate companies lagged the market in another sign that investors were shifting away from safe-play stocks.
VIRUS UPDATE: The virus outbreak has now infected more than 81,000 people globally and continues spreading. Brazil has confirmed the first case in Latin America. Germany, France, and Spain were among the European nations with growing caseloads. New cases are also being reported in several Middle Eastern nations.
President Donald Trump will hold a news conference later Wednesday, along with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control, to discuss the virus.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 1.2 percent as of 10:20 a.m. Following its two-day drop, it's still down 6.4 percent from the record high it reached last Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 335 points, or 1.2 percent, to 27,423. The Nasdaq rose 1.5 percent. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 0.6 percent.
European markets were mixed and Asian markets fell.
MOUSE EXIT: Disney fell 0.5 percent following Bob Iger's surprise announcement that he will immediately step down as CEO of the entertainment company. Iger steered the company's absorption of big moneymakers, including Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and Fox's entertainment businesses. He also oversaw the launch of the Disney Plus streaming video service.
BUSTED BUILDERS: Toll Brothers fell 10.1 percent and weighed down other homebuilders after reporting disappointing fiscal first-quarter profit. D.R. Horton fell 2.7 percent and PulteGroup shed 2.9 percent.
eToro, the social trading platform that offers crypto, forex, and equities, recently announced that it's giving U.S. users the option to include stocks and ETFs as part of their investment portfolios. Lule Demmissie, CEO of eToro U.S., joined Cheddar to talk about the company’s expanded offerings. "We felt, although crypto is a fantastic asset class, that individuals benefit from having a broader access to different kinds of investments, and equities is definitely one of them," Demmissie noted.
Coming off of CES, Blink Charging announced a partnership with legacy automaker General Motors to provide charging stations for its newest electric cars. The company specializes in stations they own and operate that also accommodate residential and commercial locations. Michael D. Farkas, founder and CEO, noted that they "don’t discriminate” when it comes to locating their chargers while also taking the philosophy of seeing their hardware more like hot water heaters rather than smartphones constantly in need of upgrading. "We believe it's one of the reasons why we were selected by GM," Farkas said. "These dealerships have to invest in these locations and make sure that this hardware is workable for a very, very long period of time."
Simeon Siegel, managing director and senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets joins Cheddar News to discuss CNBC's report that Peloton plans to halt production, despite the company's CEO denying those claims.
Mona Zhang, states cannabis policy reporter at POLITICO Pro joins Cheddar News to discuss major factors that caused Canada's retail marijuana sales to drop last year.
Jackie Rotman, founder and CEO of the Center for Intimacy Justice joins Cheddar News to talk about why Facebook is banning ads by companies targeting women's sexual health but not ads catered to men.
TikTok recently announced that it is testing a paid subscription model. The news comes days after Instagram publicized a similar service. TikTok has made $2.3 billion from in-app purchases, but mostly through tips, in 2021, showing that its users may be open to spending money on the platform.
The NCAA voted to streamline their constitution at their annual convention on Thursday. Each of the three college divisions can decide how student-athletes can make money from outside sources but still restricts schools from directly paying its players.
Netflix beat its earnings projections for Q4 — but the stock still plummeted as the streaming pioneer cut back on its forecast for future subscribers. Michael Robinson, the chief technology strategist at Money Map Press, joined Cheddar to discuss the report and what's driving the downward pressure on its shares. "It's the growth is really what's worrying people," he said. "'A' we have slowing economic growth, and 'B' we've got slowing growth for this company, as 'C' we have an increase in competition."
