Stocks rose modestly in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday as the market regains its footing following a sharp drop a day earlier.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 10:06 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 138 points, or 0.4%, to 34,438 and the Nasdaq rose 0.7%.
Technology stocks made solid gains in a reversal from a day prior when they led the market’s slide. Much of that pressure came from rising bond yields spooking investors. The higher yields have forced investors to reassess whether prices have run too high for stocks, particularly technology companies, because it makes their prices look expensive.
Apple rose 1.6% and chipmaker Nvidia rose 1.2%.
Bond yields eased and lifted some pressure off of investors who have been watching them rise sharply over the last week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is used to set interest rates on many kinds of loans, fell to 1.51% from 1.53% late Tuesday.
Oil prices edged 0.3% lower and held back energy stocks.
Markets in Asia mostly fell while markets in Europe made gains.
The broader market is still on track for a disappointing September. The benchmark S&P 500 is headed for a 3.2% loss and its first losing month since January. Investors have spent much of the month reviewing a mixed batch of economic data that showed COVID-19 and the highly contagious delta variant’s impact on consumer spending and the employment market recovery.
Investors are still closely watching the Federal Reserve to gauge how the slowdown in economic growth will impact the speed of its plan to eventually ease its exceptional support for the economy. The central bank has said that it plans to eventually trim bond purchases that have helped maintain low interest rates.
Wall Street is also preparing for the next round of corporate earnings in the next few weeks. Investors will get a more detailed look at how supply chain problems and higher costs are impacting corporate finances. Sherwin-Williams is the latest company to warn that higher raw materials costs will hurt profits.
