NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rebounding Wednesday from two days of punishing swings after oil prices stopped spiking and reports gave encouraging updates on the economy.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8% in afternoon trading and is on track to claw back most of its loss since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 256 points, or 0.5%, as of 1:18 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.
The strength followed a scary start to Wednesday, when South Korea’s Kospi stock index plunged 12.1% for its worst day in history. Uncertainty about the war has sent prices in financial markets careening up and down hour by hour this week, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing.
Oil prices moderated as trading moved westward from Seoul and the rest of Asia to Europe and across the Atlantic. After briefly topping $84 per barrel, the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, eased back to $81.51, a gain of just 0.1%. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.5% to $74.90.
Stocks also got a boost from increased hopes for the U.S. economy.
