Dow shoots 2pc higher as US stocks rebound

NEW YORK: The Dow shot up two percent as a rollercoaster session approached its finale Tuesday afternoon, rebounding from the huge losses of the prior session and a big drop at the open.

Near 2030 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 24,770.09 up about 425 points, or 1.7 percent, just off its session highs in a day of dramatic lurches in both directions.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.3 percent to 2,683.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.2 percent to 7,084.66.

Market insiders were still coming to terms with Monday's chaotic session, in which the blue-chip index lost more than 1,000 points in about an hour at one stage on the way to its biggest point drop ever.

Many analysts see worries about higher US interest rates and excessive valuations as the catalyst for a pullback that was exacerbated by technical trading factors.

"The market is probably trying to find a bottom," said Bill Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates. "Today has been particularly volatile, trading between positive and negative territory all day long. It's like a yo-yo."

But inevitably investors took advantage of the low prices to come back into the market, sending the key indexes higher.

And Lynch described Monday's move as a "long-awaited correction," not the sign of a true  shift in economic outlook.

"The economy is still strong," Lynch said. "I don't see the possibility of a recession any time soon."