Thursday November 13, 10:31 PM
Wall Street in sharp rebound as market bounces off lows
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NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks staged a powerful rebound Thursday in highly volatile trade as traders shook off grim economic news and were buoyed by a successful test of market lows hit last month.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average leapt 552.59 points (6.67 percent) to end at 8,835.25, battling back from intraday losses of more than 300 points.
The Nasdaq vaulted 97.49 points (6.50 percent) to 1,596.70 and the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 58.99 points (6.92 percent) to close at 911.29.
The market swung wildly but a rally gained momentum late in the day as investors looked for bargains after a punishing three-day market selloff and brushed aside more bleak economic and corporate news from the US and around the globe.
Paul Nolte, analyst at Hinsdale Investments, said there was no specific news that sparked the rally but that the apparently successful retesting of the lows hit last month catalyzed buyers who sensed that selling pressure was exhausted.
"We got down 300 points (for the Dow) which was a retest of the lows in early and late October and as the markets bounced off that, you heard traders starting to cheer and then the market just took a life of its own," he said.
"They believed that the bottom is in."
But Nolte said he expects further tests of the market lows as occurred after big rallies in the past few weeks.
"I would have more confidence if we can break above 1,000 (for the S&P index) and meaningfully stay there."
Earlier, the markets digested a forecast of weaker results from tech giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC - news) and profits in line with forecasts from retail sector leader Wal-Mart.
On the economic front, the US trade deficit fell 4.4 percent to 56.5 billion dollars in September, which would normally be seen as positive but the data showed steep declines in both imports and exports.
Another grim reminder of the economic troubles came with data showing weekly jobless claims rose 32,000 to an alarmingly high reading of 516,000.
Al Goldman at Wachovia Securities said investors were willing to hunt for bargains after some heavy selling in the past three sessions.
"Stocks changed directions several times before investors capitalized on what appeared to be attractive valuations," he said.
"The rebound gathered steam after the S&P 500 dropped below its lowest closing price in five years and the Dow briefly dipped below 8,000. The Dow traded in a huge range of 900 points."
The market managed to shake off a raft of troubling economic data. In addition to the US data on unemployment claims and trade, German data showed the third-largest economy officially in recession as the rest of Europe appeared to teeter toward economic decline.
Among stocks in focus, Intel reversed early losses and climbed 6.6 percent to 14.43 dollars after the computer chip giant cut its fourth-quarter revenue projections, saying the economic slowdown would hurt its business across the board.
Wal-Mart added 4.39 percent to 54.93 after it reported a 10 percent rise in quarterly earnings but said a stronger dollar would weigh on future results from fast-growing international sales.
In the financial sector, JPMorgan Chase leapt 7.6 percent to 37.19 dollars as investors shook off comments from the banking giant that its results may be hurt by rising unemployment.
In energy, Chevron (NYSE: CVX - news) jumped 12.5 percent to 75.71 dollars as crude oil prices firmed.
The bond market weakened. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond increased to 3.818 percent from 3.665 Wednesday and that on the 30-year bond rose to 4.333 percent from 4.190. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
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