Stocks Open Higher Wednesday
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks in the U.S. are higher Wednesday morning after two days of steep losses, and major European indexes are also recovering. Major technology companies including Apple and Microsoft are up after they've tumbled in the last few days. Crude oil prices are up about 2 percent after they sank to a one-year low a day earlier.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index gained 20 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,663 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. It's down 2.7 percent so far this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151 points, or 0.6 percent, to 24,625. The Nasdaq composite added 101 points, or 1.4 percent, to 7,008. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 15 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,484.
Trading was light. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will be open for a half-day on Friday.
TECH TURNAROUND: Technology companies recovered a sliver of their recent losses. Amazon rose 1.7 percent to $1,522 and Facebook picked up 1.9 percent to $135. Apple inched up 0.2 percent to $177.32.
Apple's market value has dropped by about $250 billion since early October and Amazon has fallen by $245 billion since early September. The combined loss of around $495 billion for those two companies is greater than the value of all but five S&P 500 stocks.
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IF THE SHOE FITS: Retailer Foot Locker jumped 15 percent to $53 after its third-quarter profit and revenue surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The company added that it expects strong sales over the holidays.
Design software maker Autodesk climbed 10.2 percent to $135.60 after a strong quarterly report. The company also said it is buying construction software company PlanGrid for $875 million.
ENERGY: Oil prices rebounded Wednesday as benchmark U.S. crude gained 2.3 percent to $54.66 a barrel in New York. It fell 6.6 percent on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard traded in London, advanced 1.7 percent to $63.58 a barrel.
Crude prices have plunged since early October on worries of rising supplies and softening global growth.
BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.07 percent from 3.04 percent.
Utilities and other high-dividend stocks also declined. Those companies have done better than the rest of the market during turbulent trading in October and November, but when the market makes a broad rebound they usually get left behind.
ECONOMIC CONCERN: A global economic adviser cut its forecast for economic growth in 2019 and said the world economy faces growing risks, including from trade disputes and higher interest rates. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which advises many of the world's richest economies, now expects the global economy to grow 3.5 percent instead of 3.7 percent next year. Concerns about slower growth in the global economy have contributed to the market's recent losses.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.98 yen from 112.40 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1403 from $1.1399.
OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 100 both rose 1 percent. The CAC 40 in France added 0.6 percent.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent and the Kospi in South Korea was down 0.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent.
(BE)