Stocks wobble, end higher

Investors are still more nervous than they were just a week ago.

NEW YORK» Stocks have spent the day bobbing up and down and are mostly higher in late trading Wednesday. Industrial companies and banks are climbing, while technology companies are down and energy firms are slumping along with oil prices.

After a slightly lower open, stocks recovered within the first few minutes of trading, only to slip and briefly turn lower. By mid-afternoon they were higher again.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,707 as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average added 237 points, or 1 percent, to 25,150. It rose as much as 381 points earlier. The Nasdaq composite fell 9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,106. Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

After two steep plunges, including its worst loss in six and a half years, followed by gains Tuesday, the S&P 500 is down 5.8 percent from its most recent record high set on Jan. 26.

Wednesday’s swing was significant, but was dwarfed by the lurching moves the market has made over the last few days. The Dow plunged 1,175 points Monday, and on a wild day Tuesday, it dove to an early loss of 567 points and then wound up with a gain of 567 points.

While markets have steadied somewhat, investors are still far more nervous than they were just a few days ago.

The VIX index, which is called Wall Street’s “fear gauge” because it measures how much volatility investors expect in the future, is currently at 25, about double where it was two weeks ago. It spiked above 50 early Tuesday.

“The markets had blinders on,” said Invesco Chief Global Markets Strategist Kristina Hooper.

“I thought it was almost alarming that markets weren’t considering that, for example, we have a different (Federal Reserve) in 2018 that could be more hawkish,” she said.