US markets rebound a day after plunge

Associated Press

NEW YORK

U.S. stocks rebounded Wednesday, recovering a significant portion of their losses from a day earlier. Investors remain on edge after the latest market plunge, which was triggered by more signs of slowing growth in China.

The market still has a lot of ground to make up after last week’s major declines.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 293.03 points, or 1.8 percent, to 16,351.38. That index fell more than 470 points the day before. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 35.01 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,948.86, and the Nasdaq composite rose 113.87 points, or 2.5 percent, 4,749.98.

The market has been bouncing around sharply the last few weeks after signs of weakness in China and uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates. Triple-digit moves in the Dow have been an almost daily occurrence in the past month.

“Investors should expect more volatility,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott. “The market needs to work through this correction, and that could take weeks, or maybe months.”

Though China remains a dominant force in traders’ minds, investors are turning their attentions toward the U.S.

A private survey showed that U.S. businesses added jobs at a steady pace last month, with construction and manufacturing showing solid gains. The payroll processor ADP said businesses added 190,000 jobs last month, up from 177,000 in July but below a six-month high of 231,000 set in June.

The ADP report comes two days before Friday’s August jobs report. Economists are forecasting that U.S. employers created 220,000 jobs in August and that the unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent.

It will be the last jobs report Federal Reserve policymakers have before their next policy meeting later this month. Some economists expect the Fed to raise interest rates.