Wall Street bounces back, led by energy and materials
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Wednesday, bouncing off the previous day's losses as a weaker U.S. dollar lifted energy and materials stocks.
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By Rodrigo Campos
Stocks were also helped as a successful Portuguese debt offering eased risk aversion.
U.S. bank stocks recover from Tuesday losses as European bank shares bounced off their lows. JPMorgan Chase and Co <JPM.N> gained 2 percent to $39.06, while the S&P financial sector index <.GSPF> rose 1.4 percent.
"The sectors that were hit in the sell-off yesterday are bouncing back," said David Chalupnik, head of equities at FAF Advisors in Minneapolis. "And the lower dollar does help the material and energy stocks."
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodities index <.CRB> posted gains for a fifth day running.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 74.40 points, or 0.72 percent, to 10,415.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 9.01 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,100.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 21.27 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,230.16.
Stocks fell in light volume on Tuesday as investors seized on renewed concerns about European banks' exposure to sovereign debt to sell shares after strong gains last week.
Later Wednesday, investors will eye the release of the U.S. central bank's Beige Book, the anecdotal reports gathered from its 12 regional banks that could offer insight into U.S. economic conditions. The report is due at 2 p.m. EDT.
U.S.-traded shares of BP Plc <BP.L><BP.N> rose 3.1 percent to $38.36 after it issued an internal report on the rig blast that led to the worst-ever U.S. oil spill and the death of 11 crew members.
BP deflected much of the blame, claiming drilling contractor Transocean Ltd <RIG.N> missed danger signs and criticized the cementing of the well conducted by Halliburton Co <HAL.N>. Transocean gained 2.5 percent to $54.36, while Halliburton added 1.1 percent to $30.17.
Staples Inc <SPLS.O> was up 2.7 percent to $19.17, and Costco Wholesale Corp <COST.O> rose 1.1 percent to $59.31 after Goldman Sachs upgraded their stocks to "buy.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
