Market Roundup

The wild ride for investors continued Tuesday.

Stocks surged to their second-biggest gain of the year, more than wiping out a big loss from Friday and leaving the Dow Jones industrial average down just slightly for the month.

The market was rebounding from a steep selloff last week, when a mixed jobs report left investors uncertain about the outlook for interest rates.

Big moves have become common in financial markets in recent weeks as investors have worried about the health of the Chinese economy and the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Many slumps have been followed by strong rebounds.

Some strategists believe a sell-off in stocks that began in the middle of August is over, while others say that there may still be more selling.

“There is some value out there, but I’m not fully convinced that the selling pressure is out of the picture,” said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 48.19 points, or 2.5%, to 1,969.41. The Dow rose 390.30 points, or 2.4%, to 16,492.68. The Nasdaq composite climbed 128.01 points, or 2.7%, to 4,811.93 points.

Trading was closed in the U.S. on Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

Traders were encouraged by a rebound in China’s stock market despite some disappointing news on its economy.

The country’s exports shrank 5.5% last month compared with a year earlier, while imports tumbled 13.8%. August’s figures were hit by disruption from a massive explosion at the busy Tianjin port and government-enforced factory shutdowns in the run-up to a huge military parade in Beijing last week. China’s trade has been weak for months, reflecting muted global demand and a domestic slowdown.

Despite the disappointing reports, China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.9% in a rebound from losses earlier in the day. A big slump in the Chinese markets this year has unsettled investors.

Investors also got some encouraging news on mergers. General Electric surged on reports that the European Union is set to approve its $17-billion acquisition of Alstom SA’s power business. The deal was announced in June last year. GE climbed 96 cents, or 4%, to $24.96.

Teco Energy soared after agreeing to be acquired by the Canadian energy and services company Emera for about $6.5 billion. Teco’s stock rose $5.27, or 25%, to $26.34.

Meredith jumped $4.53, or 9.9%, to $50.47 after agreeing to be acquired by rival media company Media General.