Tuesday's midday trade: Wall Street cuts losses

The Nasdaq jumped 1 percent on Tuesday, reversing an earlier steep drop as tech shares rose and the overall stock market trimmed losses on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that he was ready to take more steps to help the fragile recovery.
The market pared earlier sharp losses, which had pushed the broad S&P 500 into bear market territory, which Wall Street defines as a drop of 20 percent from a recent high. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 73.71 points, or 0.69 percent, at 10,581.59. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.36 points, or 0.21 percent, at 1,101.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 32.74 points, or 1.40 percent, at 2,368.57. Apple shot up 1.5 percent to $380.30 ahead of the release of its new iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 5.