Nasdaq Turns Solidly Higher in Volatile Action

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The embattled Nasdaq swung solidly into positive territory in choppy action on Tuesday as traders scooped up beaten-down stocks.

Today's Markets

As of 3:37 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23 points, or 0.14%, to 16268, the S&P 500 advanced 8.1 points, or 0.44%, to 1853 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 37.1 points, or 0.91%, to 4116.

The Nasdaq tumbled for the third day in a row Monday, with the tech-heavy index sliding 4.6% over the period. The worst three-day selloff since August 2011 was driven by steep declines among once high-flying technology and biotechnology shares.

Meanwhile, some analysts are turning fairly bearish. Barclays, for example, wrote in a note to clients that "upside for U.S. markets is capped, with [the second quarter] likely to prove difficult for equities, and highlight that biotech and industries tied to the housing trade have taken the hardest hit."

Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners, said he's treading carefully as well.

"The names I like on the long side here mainly reside in the value bucket, and include names that lagged coming into this whole time period, but have held up better during it," he wrote in an e-mail.

Still, some of the growth stocks that have taken a beating recently have actually led the advance, especially in the tech sector. However, notable, a handful of biotech names like Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) were sharply lower.

Earnings season unofficially kicks off after the closing bell Tuesday, with aluminum heavyweight Alcoa (NYSE:AA) posting its first-quarter results. Later in the week banking giants JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) are set to report.

The only report on the economic calendar is on small business sentiment. The National Federation of Independent Business's gauge rose to 93.4 in March from 91.4 in February.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 89 cents, or 0.9%, to $101.34 a barrel. Wholesale New York Habor gasoline gained 0.49% to $2.94 a gallon. Gold rose $14.10, or 1.1%, to $1,312 troy ounce.