US stocks rise in early trading as volatile swings continue

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street early Wednesday to claw back some of their sharp losses from the day before in yet another day of big swings for the market.

Health care stocks had the market’s biggest gains after a strong performances by Joe Biden in state primaries on Tuesday moved him to top-tier contender status for the Democratic presidential nomination. Many investors believe he is more friendly to businesses than rival Bernie Sanders, whose proposals for health care and the economy could hurt profits at insurers and other companies.

Investors are also waiting to see if other central banks will follow up on the Federal Reserve’s surprise move Tuesday to slash interest rates by half a percentage point in hopes of protecting the economy from the economic fallout of a fast-spreading virus.

The S&P 500 was up 1.5%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. It recovered just over half its loss from the day before, when worries flared that rate cuts would not be able to halt the spread of the virus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 510 points, or 2%, to 26,427, and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%.

Even though many investors say they know lower interest rates will not solve the health crisis, they want to see central banks and other authorities do what they can to lessen the damage. Companies around the world are already warning that the virus is sapping away earnings due to supply chain disruptions and weaker sales. The S&P 500 sank 2.8% on Tuesday after a brief relief rally triggered by the Fed’s rate cut fizzled, as doubts rose about how effective lower rates will be in this health crisis.

The bond market, which was among the earliest to flash red flags about the economic pain from the virus, was still showing caution. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 0.97% from 1.01% late Tuesday, a day after...