US stocks bounce back in morning trade

NEW YORK: US stocks rebounded in early trade Thursday after Wednesday's 4.0 percent-plus rout as the markets remained very volatile for a fifth straight session.

At 1430 GMT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 233.78 points (2.18 percent) to 10,953.72, after losing 520 points on Wednesday.

The broader S&P 500 gained 27.41 points (2.45 percent) to 1,148.17, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 61.69 points, or 2.98 percent, to 2,134.78.

Big swings in the indices continued the rocky trade of the past week as investors struggle with weak economies on both sides of the Atlantic, the Standard & Poor's downgrade of the US credit rating, and more worries over the health of top eurozone countries.

European markets seesawed again Thursday and were mostly higher in afternoon trading after French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel aimed at preventing the eurozone debt crisis from forcing Italy and Spain into default.

"This isn't a volatile equity market. It is an extremely volatile equity market," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

"The massive swings are symptomatic of a market that is racked with uncertainty and where every rumor is treated as truth until the real truth can set one free from the rumor. The cycle soon begins anew, though, when the next rumor hits the wires."

Big banks, hit with 10 percent losses on Wednesday, regained part of that, with Bank of America bouncing back 6.0 percent and Citigroup regaining 3.5 percent.

Boeing stood out as the only loser among Dow blue chips, falling 1.6 percent after a nearly eight percent drop Wednesday.

Bond yields firmed after trading at near-record lows a day earlier.

The 10-year Treasury bond rose to 2.19 percent from 2.09 percent late Wednesday, while the 30-year rose to 3.56 percent from 3.49 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011