Dow +1.82%  16,351.38  /  +293.03 
Nasdaq +2.46%  4,749.98  /  +113.87 
S& P +1.83%  1,948.86  /  +35.01

 

Global stock indexes rose on Wednesday, helped by reports of brokerage measures in China to invigorate the country' s battered markets, while oil bounced from earlier losses to end nearly 2 percent higher.

The S& P 500 jumped 1.8 percent, rebounding from Tuesday' s steep losses. An upward revision in U.S. productivity data and a Federal Reserve report saying U.S. labor markets were tight enough to fuel small wage gains in some professions in recent weeks boosted sentiment.

Rallying equities pulled crude oil up from lows in another volatile session for the energy market.

Overseas, nine Chinese brokerages pledged to buy more than 30 billion yuan of shares, according to the China Securities Journal. That eased investor fears that Beijing may be intensifying a trading crackdown.

The news steadied global markets that have been rattled in recent weeks by concerns about slowing growth in China, the world' s second biggest economy.

" What we' re seeing today is not a recovery. It' s market volatility, it' s nervousness, it' s an inability to call the direction of the market," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

" Through now and October we' re going to see a lot more of this, a lot of volatility."

The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street' s " fear gauge," dipped 11 percent but stayed in territory not seen since 2011 after Standard & Poor' s cut its credit rating on the United States for the first time.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 293.03 points, or 1.82 percent, to 16,351.38, the S& P 500 .SPX gained 35.01 points, or 1.83 percent, to 1,948.86 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 113.87 points, or 2.46 percent, to 4,749.98.

The S& P 500 posted its worst monthly drop in three years in August and is down 8.5 percent from its all-time high in May.

European equities .FTEU3 ended 0.2 percent higher, while MSCI' s all-country stock index rose 0.8 percent.

Brent October crude rose 1.9 percent to settle at $50.50 a barrel, having recovered from a $47.74 low. U.S. October crude CLc1 rose 1.9 percent to settle at $46.25, after falling as low as $43.21 in the session.

On Tuesday, oil slid 8 percent, ending a 25 percent three-session surge of frenzied short-covering.

The dollar rose as global stock markets steadied, and as U.S. hiring data encouraged speculation that the Fed will raise interest rates at its policy-setting meeting later this month.

The dollar index .DXY, a measure of six major currencies' value against the greenback, was last up 0.40 percent and had added to gains when ADP reported that U.S. private payrolls increased 190,000 last month.

The government' s more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report is due on Friday, the last monthly report before the Fed meets on Sept. 16-17.

In another report on Wednesday, U.S. data showed nonfarm productivity increased at its strongest pace in 1-1/2 years in the second quarter, keeping wage inflation subdued for now.

The combination of more demand for workers and worries about Chinese economic growth underscores the challenge faced by the Fed at its upcoming meeting, when it may decide to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006.

Prices of safe-haven U.S. Treasuries slipped on the greater risk appetite, with long-dated prices falling the most on continued speculation of foreign central bank selling.

Benchmark 10-year Treasuries were last down 5/32 in price to yield 2.19 percent from 2.17 percent late Tuesday. U.S. 30-year Treasuries were last off 18/32 to yield 2.96 percent from 2.93 percent late Tuesday.

In the precious metals market, gold eased as the rebound in stocks and the dollar arrested a four-day rise. Spot gold XAU= was down 0.5 percent at $1,134 an ounce.

 

 

Dow -2.84%  16,058.35  /  -469.68 
Nasdaq -2.94%  4,636.11  /  -140.40
S& P -2.96%  1,913.85  /  -58.33

 

 

Here we go again. Stocks took another nosedive Tuesday following more fears about a slowdown in China' s economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 470 points, or 2.8%, and is 12.5% below the all-time high it set in May. The S& P 500 fell 3% and is once again in a so-called correction. It' s down more than 10% from the record that it hit in May.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank nearly 3% as well and is 11% below its July peak. The Nasdaq also lost its gains for the year Tuesday and is now 2% lower in 2015.

It' s an ominous start to September, which is historically the worst month for stocks. (Investors may be singing " Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day if this keeps up.)

And it comes after the market suffered a miserable August. The Dow had its worst month in more than 5 years while the S& P 500 had its biggest monthly drop since May 2012.

Weakness in China, the world' s second-largest economy, is a major concern for traders. Two separate reports that came out Tuesday morning showed continued sluggishness in China' s manufacturing sector.

The IMF also warned Tuesday that China' s slowdown will have an impact on the rest of the global economy.

Related: China' s factory sector is running out of steam

Shares of U.S. companies with big exposure to China -- Apple (AAPL, Tech30). mobile chip giants Qualcomm (QCOM, Tech30) and Avago (AVGO), KFC owner Yum Brands (YUM) and Macau casino operators MGM (MGM), Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Wynn (WYNN) -- all took a noticeable hit Tuesday.

Oil stocks fell sharply as well as crude prices tumbled 7%. Oil prices spiked dramatically on Monday on hopes of production cuts after OPEC said in a report that it was " ready to talk" to other oil producers about how to stabilize prices.

An oil supply glut is the main reason crude prices have fallen off a cliff during the past year. But fears about slowing demand from China have put pressure on oil as well lately.

Related: Oil prices pull back after climbing to near $50

So any new fears that hint at more weakness in China will likely put more pressure on oil and many other commodities.

To that end, oil giant ConocoPhillips (COP) announced it was cutting about 1,800 jobs Tuesday and cited the " dramatic downturn" in the energy sector as the reason.

It didn' t help that a key gauge of manufacturing in the United States also missed Wall Street' s forecasts Tuesday. The ISM manufacturing index for August fell from July and hit its lowest level since May 2013.

But on the positive side, construction spending in July grew at a higher rate than expected.

Still, the global market turmoil and mixed bag of U.S. economic data may further complicate things for the Federal Reserve, which will meet in two weeks to discuss whether or not to raise interest rates.

Worries about when the Fed will finally hike rates, which it hasn' t done since 2006, have also weighed on market sentiment.

Rates have been near zero since December 2008 and there are fears that many traders won' t be able to cope in an environment where the Fed is boosting rates.

Investors will have a better sense of what the Fed might do after the U.S. government reports the August jobs figures on Friday. Strong payroll gains and a pickup in wage growth could keep the Fed on track to raise rates this month.

Related: 7 events to keep an eye on in September

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