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.
Creator commerce platform LTK raised $300 million in a recent funding round, now valuing the company at $2 billion. LTK is the world's largest influencer marketing platform and is known for helping to pioneer the so-called 'creator economy.' The company helps content creators make money off of their social media posts by hosting them on one central marketplace. LTK says more than $3 million in products are bought each year on its website and app. Now, the company is looking to continue its growth. LTK co-founder and president Amber Venz Box joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
As cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant continue to pop up, including the first U.S. case in California, how will domestic holiday travel be impacted? That part of the travel sector has mostly recovered from the year-long pandemic rout, while business travel continues its slump. But could a new variant bring new lockdowns and domestic restrictions? Clint Henderson, Senior News Editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the omicron variant means for holiday travel, best practices for passengers traveling through airports, and more.
Microsoft recently announced the standalone Teams Essentials as businesses continue to update their practices for the new norm of hybrid work life. Jared Spataro, corporate VP at Microsoft Modern Work, joined Cheddar to talk about solutions the tech giant has rolled out in order to help underserved small and medium-sized companies continue operations seamlessly. "We're excited about the opportunity to serve their needs better, and that, in particular, is focused on their meeting and communication needs," he said. "We start with Teams, which has been a wildly successful product for us up in the enterprise space, and now we have created a form of Teams that is particularly suited for small businesses."
Online resale platform eBay is growing its investment in the sneakers market after acquiring Sneaker Con's authentication business. Garry Thaniel, general manager of sneakers at eBay, spoke to Cheddar about why this was an ideal time to take the already established relationship between the companies to vet collectible footwear. "The sneaker market is valued at over $20 billion, and what we've seen at eBay is quarter-over-quarter, double-digit growth," he noted. "When we talk about our partnership with Sneaker Con, we've authenticated over a million and a half sneakers in just over a year."
No matter what you're in the market for this holiday season, there is one way that you can put some cash back in your pocket and stretch your gift budget a little bit further this year. With Lolli, for every gift you buy for someone else, you get the gift of free bitcoin back. CEO of Lolli, Alex Adelman, joins Cheddar News.
Just about a week after being re-nominated, Federal Reserve Chair Jermone Powell is changing his tune. After nearly a year of referring to inflation as 'transitory,' Powell said he will retire the 'T' word as inflation remains elevated. Christopher Russo, Post-Graduate Research Fellow, Mercatus Center joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
With the delta variant, financial uncertainty, political polarization and more, companies have had to get creative in order to stay afloat this year. During times of stress and anxiety, consumers tend to stick with more established brands or products they already use. That sentiment is reflected in data intelligence company Morning Consult's annual list of the Fastest Growing Brands, which measures growth for both emerging and established companies. Joanna Piacenza, head of industry intelligence at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar to break down the key findings of the report.
Iwao Fusillo, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, GM, joins Cheddar News to dispel myths and cut straight to the facts about GM's role in an all-electric future.
Goldman Sachs is rolling out an Amazon Web Service for trading firms called GS Financial Cloud for Data with Amazon Web Services. The move comes as Wall Street looks to keep up with today's evolving tech.
Online ad-tech company Innovid made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange. CEO and co-founders Zvika Netter joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss factors that drove the company to launch an IPO via a SPAC deal. He noted that the rapid growth of connected TV advertising (CTV) made it an opportune time for his business to go public. While the company is profitable, Netter also explained the various avenues it will take to increase total revenue.
