NEW YORK, Feb 26 — Wall Street stocks jumped early today as markets sought to shake off a two-day drubbing on mounting worries over the coronavirus.
Major indices were up more than one per cent, in a rebound that analysts attributed to bargain-hunting.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.2 per cent at 27,415.51. The blue-chip index has shed nearly 2,000 points in the last two sessions.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.4 per cent to 3,171.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.7 per cent to 9,118.21.
Coronavirus cases continued to spread beyond the outbreak’s European hotspot Italy, as the world scrambled to contain the deadly epidemic that is growing fast beyond China’s borders.
New cases linked to Italy — the country hardest hit by the virus in Europe — have emerged in several countries in Europe and beyond, amid warnings from health experts that countries are not ready to contain a global outbreak.
Stocks also opened higher on Tuesday, only to reverse course and end with steep losses after US public health officials said they expected a more significant outbreak in the United States than has occurred so far.
Among individual companies, Disney shed 0.8 per cent after announcing that longstanding Chief Executive Bob Iger was stepping down and would be replaced with Bob Chapek, a company veteran who has led the amusement park division.
TJX, the parent company of off-price retailer Marshall’s, surged 8.3 per cent after reporting a jump in fourth-quarter profits on a six per cent gain on comparable sales. — AFP
