After falling sharply in early trading, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages bounced well off their lows for the session and into positive territory.
The Dow ended the day up 93.33 points or 0.5 percent to 17,776.91 after falling more than 200 points to its lowest intraday level in five months. The S&P 500 also climbed 12.58 points or 0.6 percent to 2,081.34, while the Nasdaq edged up 5.52 points or 0.1 percent to 4,997.46.
Concerns about the ongoing Greek debt crisis contributed to the early weakness on Wall Street, although selling pressure eventually waned due in part to optimism a deal could still be reached.
The Greek people voted on Sunday to reject the austerity measures proposed by the country's creditors, but negotiators are expected to make a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement over the coming days.
Jonathan Loynes, Chief European Economist at Capital Economics, said, "It is still just about possible to imagine some sort of agreement coming together which would keep Greece inside the currency union, in the short term at least."
"It would presumably lie somewhere between the creditors' last offer - rejected by the Greek public in last weekend's referendum - and the latest counter-offer advanced on June 30th by [Prime Minister] Tsipras," he added.
However, Loynes said it might very soon be time to accept the inevitable and refocus efforts on how best to manage the "Grexit."
The turnaround by stocks also came amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, which helped to lift energy stocks well off their lows.
Crude for August delivery still ended the day down $0.20 at $52.33 a barrel, although it was well off its low of $50.58 a barrel. The price of oil also saw continued upside in electronic trading.
Technical levels were also said to have played a part in the recovery by the markets, with the rebound by the S&P 500 coming after it dropped below its 200-day moving average.
Sector News
Utilities stocks showed a strong move to the upside as the trading day progressed, driving the Dow Jones Utilities Average up by 2.5 percent. The gain lifted the average to its best closing level in a month.
Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG), Duke Energy (DUK), and American Electric Power (AEP) turned in some of the utilities sector's best performances.
Considerable strength also emerged among oil service stocks, which rebounded along with the price of crude oil. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index climbed by 1.8 percent after hitting a three-month intraday low.
Natural gas, commercial real estate, and railroad stocks also moved notably higher, contributing to the turnaround by the broader markets.
On the other hand, substantial weakness remained visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 4.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The weakness in the sector came as gold for August delivery plunged $20.60 to $1,152.60 an ounce.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved sharply lower on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index plummeted by 2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries moved notably higher, extending yesterday's rally. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dropped 4.7 basis points to a one-month closing low of 2.231 percent.
Looking Ahead
News regarding Greece may continue to attract attention on Wednesday, although traders are also likely to keep an eye on the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
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Business News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.