NEW YORK " Wall Street rebounded smartly in early trading Wednesday after investors found some reassurance from IBM's better-than-expected forecast for 2009.
Stocks tumbled Tuesday on fears governments would be forced to take over wobbly banks to avoid their collapse.
Technology stocks led Wednesday's rebound after IBM said late Tuesday that it expects to earn $9.20 per share this year " 45 cents a share better than the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters. IBM also said its fourth-quarter profit jumped 12 percent, easily topping analysts' estimates.
Earnings reports will continue to be the market's focus Wednesday, and for the next few weeks. Apple Inc. is set to report its fiscal first-quarter results after the market closes.
In the first half-hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.19, or 0.95 percent, to 8,024.28.
Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index 12.02, or 1.49 percent, to 817.24, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 26.53, or 1.84 percent, to 1,467.39.
The Dow tumbled 332.13, or 4 percent, to 7949.09 on Tuesday. It was the first time the Dow closed below 8,000 since November.