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.
Jim Bruderman, Vice Chairman at 1879 Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors experienced a 'panic attack' last week with the spread of the Omicron variant and the Fed's tapering plans. As a result, he says we're now seeing stocks climb due to a growing comfort level toward both developments.
Attack surface management startup CyCognito recently raised $100 million in its latest funding round, valuing the company at $800 million. CyCognito offers cyber security through its attack surface scanner, which uses artificial intelligence to identify weak spots in an organization's network. The new funding comes as companies around the world continue to add new defenses to the growing rise of cyber threats and attacks. CyCognito co-founder and CEO Rob Gurzeev joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Roshan Jhunja, head of retail at Square, joined Cheddar to talk about the financial services company's second annual Future of Retail report. Square expects the massive shift to e-commerce to continue into 2022 as more consumers get used to the online shopping experience. For Square, soon-to-be renamed Block, which began predominantly as a digital payment platform, Jhunja said the company is also helping sellers with automation amid ongoing labor shortages.
Facebook is undergoing more than a name change. The company, now known as Meta, has also seen an exodus of executives this year. While the timing of some of these resignations came before whistleblower allegations, it's undeniable the tech giant is undergoing big changes. Doug Astrop, Managing Partner at Exponential Investment Partners, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss Facebook's current state, possible regulatory scrutiny, the impact of Instagram chief Adam Mosseri's Congressional testimony, and more.
Businesses are likely to increase salaries budgets in 2022 by 3.9 percent according to a study by The Conference Board. Gad Levanon, head of the Labor Market Institute at The Conference Board, joined Cheddar to provide additional details about the survey's findings. He attributed the anticipated salary hikes to companies looking to retain current employees, a desire to attract a new crop of workers, and surging inflation.
Fast AF, a premiere quick commerce retailer for products and brands just announced the close of its Series A investment round. That round puts the value of the company at $200 million. The company gets items to customers ranging from masks to sneakers and is now launching its own in-house delivery service. Lee Hnetinka, founder and CEO of FastAF joins Cheddar News to discuss the announcement.
Carolina Navas, Snap's head of AR product strategy and product marketing, joins Cheddar News to discuss how Snapchat's augmented reality is changing the shopping game this holiday season.
