Wall Street Rebounds on Greek Optimism, Payroll Data

FOX Business: The Power to Prosper

After taking the worst fall of the year on Tuesday, the markets made a powerful comeback bid on the day as traders grew more optimistic that Greece will be able to drum up enough support for its bond exchange, and a report on private-sector payrolls beat expectations.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 78.2 points, or 0.61%, to 12837, the S&P 500 gained 9.3 points, or 0.69%, to 1353 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 25.4 points, or 0.87%, to 2936.

Some of the sectors that performed the worst on Tuesday were the best performers of the session. In particular, industrials and financials proved to be bright spots.

Echoing the broader markets, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) were two of the best-performing blue chips. Home Depot (NYSE:HD), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and General Electric (NYSE:GE) were also among the winners.

Volatility, which spiked more than 15% in the previous session, sunk 7.5%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose by 0.033-percentage point to 1.976% as traders crept out of safe havens.

Greece Nears Closing Private Debt Exchange

On the European front, a private creditor group said 40.8% of Greek bondholders it represents back the debt exchange that will cut the face value of its members holdings by more than half. Included in the group are banking giants such as Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), Societe Generale (NYSE:SCGLY), Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS) and HSBC (NYSE:HBC). On top of that, Greek pension funds also supported the deal, along with the countries largest banks, meaning the participation rate is continuing to push even higher.

The private sector tacked on 216,000 jobs last month, according to payroll processor ADP, higher than the 208,000 economists expected. The highly-important monthly employment report from the Labor Department is on tap for Friday, and ADP's private survey gives economists a hint of what may be expected. Indeed, in recent reports, the private sector, particularly small businesses, have led to jobs gains while the government sector has pulled back on its hiring.

Weekly employment data, which tend to be more volatile than the monthly reports, have shown a significant downward trend on the number of individuals filing for first-time unemployment benefits.

Commodities markets rose mildly, helped by a weaker dollar. The greenback fell 0.12% against a basket of six world currencies tracked by the dollar index. Data from the Energy Department showed that crude oil stocks rose by 832,000 barrels last week, a slightly bigger build than the 800,000 economists expected. Gasoline inventories, meanwhile, fell by 396,000 barrels, short of the expected 1.4-million barrel draw.

The benchmark crude oil contract traded in New York climbed $1.46, or 1.4%, to $106.16 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor RBOB gasoline jumped 1.8% to $3.287 a gallon.

In metals, gold gained $11.80, or 0.71%, to $1,684 a troy ounce.

Corporate News

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled the 'New iPad,' which features a quicker processor, high resolution display and other enhancements.

Foreign Markets

European blue chips climbed 0.36%, the English FTSE 100 rose 0.36% to 5787 and the German DAX edged higher by 0.26% to 6650.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 ticked lower by 0.64% to 9576 and the Chinese Hang Seng slumped 0.86% to 20628.