US stocks finished a turbulent day mostly higher as the market bounced back from two straight days of big declines after the Fed set a likely timetable for reeling in its stimulus program.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41.08 (0.28 per cent) to 14,799.40.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 4.24 (0.27 per cent) to 1,592.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 7.39 (0.22 per cent) to 3,357.25.
Indices in France, Germany and the UK all opened higher, but tumbled after US Treasury interest rates move sharply higher at midday. US stocks also swooned, but later recovered after several lurches up and down throughout the day.
Markets have been on edge since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the Fed planned to taper its bond-buying program later this year.
“The market is trying to regain a little bit, to find its floor and is trying to find if the current levels are what it wants to hold, or whether it wants to see additional legs lower,” said David Levy, portfolio manager of Kenjol Capital Management.
Wells Fargo (up 2.2 per cent) and Dow member Procter & Gamble (up 2.9 per cent) were among the large companies that posted gains. Dow member Hewlett Packard fell 2.3 per cent.
Software and cloud computing company Oracle announced it was doubling its dividend and initiating a $12 billion share repurchase program, but shares still sank 9.3 per cent on flat quarterly revenues, with sales falling shy of expectations.
Morgan Stanley dipped 1.0 per cent after announcing that it received regulatory approval to acquire the remaining 35 per cent interest in wealth management division Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Holdings from Citigroup for $4.7 billion. Citigroup dropped 2.2 per cent.
Pharmaceutical company Allergan fell 3.7 per cent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to “neutral.” Goldman cited valuation and better options within the sector, according to Forbes.com.
Bond prices continued their lurch downward. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.51 per cent from 2.42 per cent Thursday, while the 30-year jumped to 3.57 per cent from 3.51 per cent. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
