By the Associated Press
Stocks jumped Tuesday on Wall Street, making up much of the ground they lost a day earlier when worries flared about spreading cases of the more contagious variant of COVID-19. It was the latest rebound following a pullback as investors continue to try and assess how badly rising infections will hurt the economic recovery. The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent, a day after its biggest drop since May. Airlines and other stocks that sank a day earlier were back in the winning column. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.21 percent but remains well below where it was last week, a sign investors remain cautious.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 596 points, or 1.8 percent, to 34,563. The blue-chip index lost 728 points a day earlier. The Nasdaq composite was up 1.8 percent, while the Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks outpaced the other major indexes with a 3.3 percent gain.
The sharp one-day rebound for the broader market shows yet again just how choppy trading has been as investors try to figure out the lingering virus’ impact on inflation, the broader economy and businesses ranging from airlines to banks. The broader market has managed to keep gaining ground even with all the churn and the benchmark S&P 500 notched several records over the last few weeks.
The spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 has become a worry spot for investors and policymakers. The Centers for Disease Control has said an estimated 83 percent of cases in the U.S. are tied to the delta variant of the virus. While tens of millions of Americans have gotten vaccinated, there remains a significant percentage of Americans who are either reluctant or outright hostile to the idea of being vaccinated.
Los Angeles County last weekend reinstituted an indoor mask mandate as the region’s infection rate was climbing quickly yet again. Other parts of the country, like Southern Missouri, are flooded with COVID cases that are straining hospitals once more.