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.
The California-based tech company specializing in enterprise cloud-based data analysis of connected internet of things (IoT) has gone public on the NYSE, and Samsara's CFO Dominic Phillips told Cheddar's Kristen Scholer that the timing was right for the public offering for the firm's next phase of growth. "We're going to continue to add to our go-to-market motion, we'll continue to build out our international presence, we'll continue to add more selling capacity specifically as we look to penetrate larger enterprise customers, and we'll look to continue to deploy money in R&D," he said.
Mark Sebastian, CIO of Karman Line Capital, breaks down the Gamestops profitability hurdles and provides an outlook on the company's turnaround strategy.
Actor, pastor, and now author Kel Mitchell joined Cheddar's 'Between Bells' to talk about his new book 'Blessed Mode: 90 Days to Level Up Your Faith' and what inspired him to write it. Mitchell said the book aims to help people boost their physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Ordained as a pastor in 2019, he talked about his service in the church. He also talked about what it was like working with former castmates on Nickelodeon's 'All That' reboot.
Cheddar is looking back at the 12 biggest buzzwords of the year leading up to Christmas. The sixth term in the countdown is SPAC. Definition: (noun) abbreviation for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies. Describes companies formed to raise money through initial public offerings (IPO), to acquire or merge with an existing company.
Jeff Thomas, Senior Vice President & Head of West Coast Listing for the NASDAQ, talks about the year in IPOs and the industries seeing the most activity within the tech sector.
VR/AR collaboration platform Spatial is diving head first into the Metaverse. The company is switching up its image--now branding itself as 'the metaverse for cultural events,' aiming to become the new virtual hub for NFT galleries, brand experiences, and large-scale conferences. Jacob Loewenstein, Head of Business, Spatial, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the company's pivot.
With the rise of meme stocks, investing platforms like Public.com saw a surge in usership as retail investors flocked to the stock market. Ahead of the new year, Public.com is pushing beyond the memes, to better understand the motivations and behaviors of the retail trader.
Its recent 'The Outsiders' report takes a deeper look at who these retail investors are, what drives their trades, and what their portfolio says about them. Stephen Sikes, COO, Public.com joined Cheddar News to discuss.
Jason Moser, Senior Analyst & Lead Advisor at The Motley Fool, discusses how the meme saga has impacted the stock market and what the future holds for companies embracing retail investors.
