Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors attempted to recoup what was a bruising prior session that erased all of the annual gains for U.S. equities.
All three of the major averages were trading higher led by early gains in tech and consumer discretionary shares ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday when U.S. financial markets are closed.
Investors may be bargain hunting in the battered tech sector. The so-called FANG stocks, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, have shed a combined $1 trillion plus in value from their record highs. Investors eyed Apple, which is sitting in a bear market, down 20 percent from its October high.
Oil also bounced back after falling the most in three years . On Tuesday, in a statement President Trump indicated the U.S. will continue its working relationship with Saudi Arabia and later told reporters oil prices were in "great shape." He followed up with a fresh tweet on Wednesday thanking the Saudis and touting "oil prices are getting lower."
In deal news, Humana and Walgreens are reportedly in talks, according to The Wall Street Journal. This comes as Aetna and CVS prepare to close their $69 billion deal after the Thanksgiving holiday. Retailers are also in focus as the key holiday shopping season kicks in. Gap —the owner of Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta—says its namesake store Gap is dragging down its overall sales and is looking into closing hundreds of the brand’s locations “with urgency.”
During a call with investors late Tuesday, Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck, said sales at Gap stores have fallen 7 percent over the last 12 months, while other brands like Old Navy and Banana Republic saw a boost, forcing the company to “address” the issue.
In economic news, U.S. Durable Goods orders dropped 4.4 percent, the most in 15 months, suggesting a slowdown in business investment. There are mounting concerns about the pace of global growth which spurred fresh declines in stocks around the world, most notably wiping out yearly advances for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, while the Nasdaq Composite hung on to fractional gains.
In Europe, London’s FTSE traded higher by 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX was up 0.5 percent and France’s CAC added 0.2 percent.
U.S. stocks sold off across the board on Tuesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling over 600 points, before trimming those declines. Losses accelerated in the final hour of trading as all major S&P 500 sectors tumbled led by energy, industrials, financials and tech. The volatility, in what is a short trading week due to Thanksgiving, erased yearly gains for the Dow, S&P 500 and essentially the Nasdaq Composite.