Dow suffers wild swings, recovers 567 points after historic sell-off
Stocks bounced back Tuesday in another day of volatility on Wall Street, as the Dow swung through triple-digit gains and losses on the heels of a historic sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 567 points, or 2.33%, to 24,912. The S&P 500 advanced 46 points, or 1.75%, to 2,695. The Nasdaq Composite added 148 points, or 2.13%, to 7,115.
U.S. equities have suffered from wild swings in recent sessions amid growing concerns over inflation — a decline in the value of money due to rising prices. Investors are bracing for the possibility that the Federal Reserve will accelerate its timetable for hiking interest rates to prevent inflation from getting out of control. However, low unemployment, robust corporate earnings and consumer spending remain headwinds for the stock market in the long run, according to Kimberly Foss, president of Empyrion Wealth Management.
“The fundamentals are strong. We’ve got hourly earnings up [and] jobs are increasing. This is good for the economy,” Foss told FOX Business’ Trish Regan on “The Intelligence Report,” adding that she advised clients to buy after Monday’s sharp sell-off. “This is nothing to fear.”
UBS Senior Vice President of Wealth Management Jim Lacamp noted that the market’s retreat was “long overdue,” saying investors should expect more volatility in the coming days. But the market is probably closer to where investors can buy rather than sell, he said.
Traders jumped back into stocks late in Tuesday’s session. The Dow, an index composed of the nation's 30 largest, publicly traded companies, stumbled at the open, falling more than 500 points and nearing correction territory, before mounting a recovery. The blue-chip index hit session highs in the final hour of trading, rising as much as 1,168 points from its morning lows. The see-saw day on Wall Street came a day after the Dow lost a record 1,175 points.
The CBOE Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” fell 19.2% on Tuesday.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 76 cents, or 1.2%, to $63.39 per barrel.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond ticked 0.07 percentage points higher to 2.78%. Yields rise as prices fall.
Gold prices settled lower Tuesday amid the stock market’s comeback. The precious metal, considered a safe-haven investment, dropped about $7, or 0.5%, to $1,329.50 per troy ounce.
In corporate news, General Motors (NYSE:GM) gained 5.9% on fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations. Home Depot (NYSE:HD), DowDuPont (NYSE:DWDP) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) led the Dow higher.