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 TSA screened more than 2.2 million airline passengers on Friday, the most since March 2020. Willis Orlando, senior product operations specialist at Scott's Cheap Flights, discusses the impact of the surge on the travel industry as well as travel infrastructure itself.
Stocks began the week closing at session lows on a day when bond yields rose and President Biden decided to stick with Jerome Powell as Fed Chair. Bryan Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Blue Zone Wealth Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down the day's activity and discusses what the Fed now needs to do going forward.
A group of crypto enthusiasts pooled over $40 million dollars in an attempt to win a copy of the U.S. Constitution last week. However, their efforts came up short, as hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin emerged as the victor in a $43.2 million Sotheby's auction. Matt Cutler, CEO & Co-Founder of Blocknative, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why ConstitutionDAO ultimately came up short.
Gparency, a company that says its mission is to revolutionize the commercial mortgage industry, raised $15 million in its first funding round - representing the largest ever seed round in the commercial real estate space. Gparency's service will allow landlords and real estate developers to receive funding directly from banks, without the need for a mortgage broker. The company says its new approach will give power back to the consumer. Gparency founder and CEO Ira Zlotowitz joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
President Joe Biden announced Monday he is re-nominating Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after weeks of speculation that he would choose Democrat and Fed Governor Lael Brainard to fill the role. Biden could be looking for continuity as the U.S. continues to grapple with COVID-19 and high inflation, and investors could be on the same page: markets and treasuries ticked up after the White House made the announcement. MarketWatch Senior Reporter Greg Robb joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss Powell's re-nomination, what we can expect from the Fed's December meeting, whether it will speed up its taper timeline, and more.
President Joe Biden named Jerome Powell, initially appointed by President Trump, to keep his seat as the chair of the Federal Reserve on Monday amid the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, inflation, and unemployment. David Beckworth, a former international economist for the Treasury Department and a senior fellow with the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar to discuss what he sees as the practicality of Biden's decision. "What Powell brings to the table is he's built up political capital with Republicans and Democrats," he said. "It's easy for him to get the job done. I think in one way he was the path of least resistance for the president."
As housing prices continues to rise, Tim Rood, managing director at the real estate finance solutions company SitusAMC, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about what is driving up the costs, attributing it to supply chain constraints and regulatory expenses. Rood stated that the federal government's response to the 2008 financial crisis has added to the growing price tags. "The government came down super hard on banks and independent mortgage companies because of the defaults," he said.
Colleen Kelly, CEO of Concern Worldwide US, joined Cheddar to discuss food insecurity concerns as the cost of this year's Thanksgiving dinner has surged amid record inflation. Kelly also talked about the ongoing issues derailing global supply chains and raising food prices, which undercuts efforts to tackle food insecurity in the United States and around the world. "Everything that hits the U.S. hits countries that are in extreme poverty even harder, and as you can imagine there were three major things affecting this in the last year: climate change, COVID, and conflict," she said.
Papa Johns has a new look for its logo, graphics, and storefronts. CEO Rob Lynch joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about the timing of the rebrand following its ongoing success through the pandemic. Patrons entering revamped locations will notice a lack of menu boards thanks to customer smartphone use and glass panels to allow customers to watch pizzas being made by hand. "Everyone has a menu board in their pocket in the form of their phone," Lynch said. "Eighty percent of our business is ordered digitally, whether it's web-based or our fastest-growing channel being app-based."
