Stronger euro boosts oil prices

Asian stocks higher at midday

STI higher at midday

Dow in triple-digit comeback

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 123 points, or 1.3%, and the S&P 500 index (SPX) rallied 11 points, or 1.1%. Both ended the previous session at the lowest point since Nov. 4.

The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (COMP) erased bigger afternoon losses to close down by 3 points, or 0.2%, which nevertheless was the lowest close since Feb. 10.

Stocks churned in the morning, as investors weighed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's positive comments about the economy with continued fears about the global outlook. But by the early afternoon, the Dow and S&P had turned higher as investors eyed the rising euro and a rally in commodities.

"It was a really volatile day, moving from negative to positive several times," said Paul Brigandi, senior portfolio manager at Direxion Funds.

He said that the volatility is bound to continue as investors try to get a handle on the outlook for the global economy.

"Investors are on edge right now," he said. "Technically, we're looking pretty bearish, but we could see a period of consolidation for a few weeks here before there's another leg down."

COMEX gold for August delivery rose $4.80 to settle at a record high of $1,245.60 an ounce.

Market correction: Stocks were hit hard Friday and Monday after last week's disappointing May jobs report and more concerns about the European debt crisis and the weak euro.

Such worries have weighed on markets for weeks as investors have tried to suss out whether the United States is in danger of falling into a so-called double-dip recession. A brutal May and rough start to June has left the major stock indexes down more than 10% from the rally highs hit in last April, with some analysts looking for declines of more than 20%, the definition of a bear market.

"Most of the charts of the major gauges look terrible and I think it's going to be a difficult summer," said Tom Schrader, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus.

"I just don't think the efforts in Europe are going to be enough and China is slowing as well," he said.

Schrader said he could see the stock indexes losing as much as 25% off the highs before stabilizing.

Bernanke: The Federal Reserve Chairman said at an event Monday night that he doesn't expect the U.S. economy to fall back into a recession again. In addition, he said that the steps European leaders were taking to control rising deficits were helping.

Euro: The euro rose 0.1% versus the dollar after churning in the morning and touching a four-year low of $1.188 Monday. The dollar fell 0.1% against the yen.

The direction of the euro tends to be taken as a proxy for worries about the European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy. Hungary's debt has become the latest concern for investors, adding to ongoing worries about Greece, Spain and the other so-called PIIGS nations - Italy, Ireland and Portugal.

Company news: McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) reported that sales at stores open a year or more rose 4.8% worldwide and 3.4% in the United States as consumers continued to buy its fast food. The company has reported rising sales in the United States for four months straight.

However, the Dow component warned that full-year profits would be hurt by the impact of the weak euro. Big multi-nationals such as McDonald's benefit from a strong euro as foreign sales convert back to more U.S. dollars. Shares rose 2%.

BP (BP) and Transocean (RIG) shares slumped in the ongoing fallout from the oil spill in the Gulf. On Monday, BP said it was having some success with its latest attempt to stop the flow of oil following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig. But investors remained wary after published reports looked at the slim, but possible risk of bankruptcy for BP in the wake of the disaster.

The rig was operated by Transocean and contracted to work on an oil well leased by BP.

But other energy-sector stocks rallied, including Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), Schlumberger (SLB) and ConocoPhilips (COP, Fortune 500).

Exxon Mobil is a Dow stock. Other big Dow gainers included Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), DuPont (DD, Fortune 500) and Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500).

A variety of big tech shares fell, including Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500), Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500).

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers three to two on volume of 1.6 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers three to two on volume of 2.66 billion shares.

World markets: European markets slipped. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.8%, Germany's DAX gave up 0.6% and France's CAC 40 retreated 1%.

Asian markets inched higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6% and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.1%.

Commodities: U.S. light crude oil for July delivery rose 55 cents to settle at $71.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.17% from 3.18% late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

Czech jobless rate falling

UK retail sales rebound

Stocks stage recovery

Stocks rally 2% on energy boost

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 225.5 points, or 2.3%. The S&P 500 index (SPX) added 28 points, or 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) rallied 59 points, or 2.6%.

On Tuesday, stocks ended sharply lower, with most of the decline coming in the final hour of trading as investors overlooked better-than-expected economic reports and instead worried about the global economic recovery.

"We're going to keep seeing big swings like this," said Harry Clark, CEO of Clark Capital Management Group. "It's going to be a choppy market for the rest of the summer."

Big movers: Gains were broad-based on Wednesday, with energy stocks leading the way.

All of the Oil and Natural Gas Index's 24 components posted gains, while the Amex Oil Index added 3%, with all 12 of its components also rising.

Halliburton (HAL, Fortune 500) jumped 12%, Schlumberger (SLB) rose nearly 9% and Andarko (APC, Fortune 500) added more than 5%. BP (BP) rose 3%.

On Tuesday, energy shares declined - with BP plunging 15% - after the company's latest attempt to plug the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico failed and Attorney General Eric Holder said there would be a criminal investigation of the spill.

"BP's existence came into question yesterday," said Clark. "Investors put all the other oil companies in the same barrel with BP, but now they're realizing that BP made a mistake but the other companies are doing well."

Transocean (RIG), the operator of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in the Gulf, was an exception, falling more than 3% after dropping 12% on Tuesday.

Technology shares also advanced Wednesday, with IBM (IBM, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) and United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500) all gaining more than 2%.

"Tech has been a laggard, but now people seem to be realizing that tech stocks in general are undervalued and are good buys," said Clark.

Economy: The National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index, a measure of sales contracts for existing homes, rose 6% in April after climbing 5.3% in March. The jump beat the 4.3% increase economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected.

Despite the positive report, economic data has had little impact on the market recently, said Clark.

"The whole theme right now is that the market is being driven minute by minute by news, the fundamentals just don't matter," he said. "But the economy is recovering, so the market will have to eventually respond to that."

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said employers announced plans to cut 38,810 jobs in May, a 1.3% rise from April's four-year low. However, job cuts were 65% lower than the same month in 2009.

Companies: General Motors and Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) both posted large increases in May sales of the brands they retain, with GM reporting a 32% gain in sales and Ford reporting a 23% increase. Toyota Motor's (TM) sales rose 7%.

"They really helped the idea that the economy isn't falling off a cliff and that there's definitely still demand out there," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.

Ford rose about 4% on Wednesday, while Toyota slipped nearly 1%.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission held the latest in a series of hearings on the role of ratings agencies in the market collapse of 2008-2009. Warren Buffett, the widely respected investor and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500), was among the witnesses. Several representatives of ratings agency Moody's (MCO) were also in attendance.

World markets: In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index slid 1.1% after the nation's prime minister resigned. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged lower.

European markets ended mostly lower, although well off the day's lows. London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%, Paris' CAC 40 fell 0.1% and Frankfurt's DAX was flat.

Dollar and commodities: The euro rose against the dollar to $1.2241, bouncing back from the four-year low touched the day before.

The dollar edged lower against the British pound and rose more than 1% versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for July delivery turned higher, climbing 28 cents to settle at $72.86 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract dropped $4.30 to settle at $1,222.60 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices were lower, pushing the benchmark 10-year note's up to 3.34% from 3.26% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

Rebound seen for stocks

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

On Tuesday, stocks ended sharply lower, with most of the decline coming in the final hour of trading.

Economy: May auto and truck sales are due throughout the day. Industry analysts expect auto sales rose to an annual rate of 4.1 million units from 3.9 million in April. Truck sales are expected to have eased slightly.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas reports on planned job cuts in May before the market opens. A report from the Labor Department on metro area unemployment rates in April is due after the opening bell.

The pending home sales index for April, a measure of sales contracts for existing homes, is expected to have risen 4.3% after climbing 5.3% in March, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The report from the National Association of Realtors is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Companies: The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will hold the latest in a series of hearings on the role of ratings agencies in the market collapse of 2008-2009. Warren Buffett, a widely respected investor and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500), will testify. Several representatives of ratings agency Moody's (MDO) will also be there.

Separately,Apple (APPL) co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs will appear at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in Palos Verdes, Calif.

World markets: In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index slid 1.1% after the nation's prime minister resigned. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged lower.

European markets opened with declines. London's FT-100 and Paris' CAC 40 slipped 1.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX was off by 1%.

Dollar and commodities: The euro slipped slightly against the dollar to $1.221, about a penny above the 4-year low touched the day before.

The dollar was down against the British pound, but it rose versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for July delivery pulled back 64 cents to $71.94 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract dropped $4.90 to $1,222 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices were higher, pushing the benchmark 10-year note's down to 3.28% from 3.29% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

agree..should be rebound soon...see transaction very small, and there must be another stupid ppl throw cheap to them... 

STI higher at midday