Stocks climb again after bad start to week

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street for a second straight day Wednesday following a sharp drop at the beginning of the week.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and is on pace for a weekly gain. Technology stocks, banks and companies that rely on consumer spending helped drive the benchmark index’s advance.

The market’s swift rebound from Monday’s sharp sell-off reflects investors’ tug-of-war as they factor in signs of economic growth as the economy reopens, strong corporate earnings and a recovering job market against the potential risks of rising inflation and the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19.

The stock market has begun looking past the pandemic and toward what the recovery looks like, said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

“Now, there is some degree of question: what is the pace, the degree of that economic recovery from here?” Northey said.

The S&P 500 gained 35.63 points (0.8%) to 4,358.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 286.01 (0.8%) to 34,798, and the Nasdaq composite added 133.08 (0.9%) to 14,631.95. The Dow and Nasdaq have also recouped their losses from Monday’s sell-off. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks picked up 39.74 (1.8%) to 2,234.04.