U.S. indexes shake off early slump and eke out gains

Stock indexes on Wall Street ended with meager gains Tuesday as a lateafternoon rally led by technology companies stemmed the market’s losses after an early slump.

The S&P eked out a gain of 0.2% after having been down 2.2% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost

0.4%, while the techheavy Nasdaq composite closed 1.7% higher.

The weak opening, which followed a long weekend for the Independence Day holiday, came about as the price of U.S. crude oil fell sharply, eventually settling below $100 a barrel for the first time since early May.

Bond yields also fell, a sign that traders were seeking less risky assets.

Energy, industrial, healthcare and most of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 ended in the red despite the late-day rally in technology stocks, communication firms and retailers and other companies that rely on direct consumer spending.

The volatility reflects growing worries among investors that the economy is slowing under the weight of surging inflation and sharply higher interest rates, pressures that could tip the economy into a recession.

“The market is really taking the growth slowdown as the primary driver today,” said Paul Kim, CEO of Simplified Asset Management. “So you’re seeing a modest sell-off in risk assets, but a significant sell-off in oil, energy, commodities tied to growth, as well as a a modest drop in yields.”

The S&P 500 rose 6.06 points to 3,831.39. The Nasdaq rose 194.39 to 3,831.39. The Dow remained in the red, losing 129.44 to 30,967.82.

Small-company stocks also bounced back after a downbeat start. The Russell 2000 rose 13.57 (0.8%) to 1,741.33.