Stocks open higher on Wall Street; China's main market dives

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening solidly higher on Wall Street as the market finds its footing after two weeks of losses amid uncertainty over the virus outbreak that began in China. China's main index dropped nearly 8% as markets reopened there after being closed for more than a week for Lunar New Year holidays. Other Asian markets were mixed and European markets rose. The S&P 500 rose 23 points, or 0.7%, to 3,248. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 193, or 0.7%, to 28,454 and the Nasdaq added 85 points, or 0.9%, to 9,235. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.55%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

China's main stock index tumbled nearly 8% Monday as the country's markets reopened and regulators sought to calm investors over the impact of a virus that has spread to more than 20 countries and killed more than 360 people. Other markets, including in Europe and Wall Street futures, were up slightly.

The outbreak of the virus in China has prompted governments around the world to step up surveillance and quarantine requirements as airlines cancel hundreds of flights. Millions of Chinese remained in lock-down as the number of people infected by the virus topped 17,000 as of Sunday night.

The Shanghai benchmark index dropped almost 9% when markets resumed trading after a week-long Lunar New Year holiday that was extended by three days. It was Shanghai's worst day since August 2015, despite the central bank's effort to inject billions of dollars of extra cash into the markets.

Many analysts have dropped their forecasts for China, the world's second-largest economy, to near 5% from earlier forecasts of 6% economic growth for the year. With tens of millions of Chinese city dwellers ordered to mostly stay home, retailer and tourism-related businesses...