Beaten-down US stocks open higher, retailers gain

NEW YORK: Beaten-down Wall Street stocks bounced early Wednesday following data that showed the strongest US holiday sales growth in the last six years.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 22,032.10, up 1.1 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.3 percent to 2,380.91, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.7 percent to 6,298.35.

Wednesday's increases came after four straight routs followed by Tuesday's Christmas holiday when markets were closed.

Investors have been unnerved by a panoply of worries, including a US government shutdown, the US-China trade war and forecasts of slower global economic growth.

But US economic data has stayed relatively strong, positioning stocks for a potential recovery.

Data from Mastercard SpendingPulse showed US holiday sales increased 5.1 percent this holiday season to more than $850 billion.

Amazon shares jumped 4.0 percent, while Best Buy, Target and Walmart all climbed about two percent or more.