NEW YORK, Feb 3 — Wall Street stocks rose early today, bouncing after Friday’s rout as markets monitored the coronavirus at the start of a week with key economic data and earnings reports.

The Dow suffered the worst losses of the year on Friday as the death toll from the virus continued to climb and the ailment spread to additional countries.

The outbreak remains a major worry, but analysts said the early gains today showed that investors viewed the pullback as a good buying opportunity.

But the market’s open "isn’t the important move,” said Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com, adding that "the important move comes after the reflexive buying action.

"Will the rally try persist or will it succumb to renewed selling interest?”

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7 per cent at 28,447.55.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 3,249.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.9 per cent to 9,236.06.

This week’s calendar includes January jobs data and updates on business conditions in the manufacturing and services sector.

There will also be earnings from several major companies, including Google parent Alphabet, Merck and General Motors. — AFP