Stocks rebound as Dow jumps 183 points
Stocks rebounded Friday as Wall Street kicked off May with a strong rally and the Dow recouping most of the previous day's losses. The major indexes did, however, post losses for the week.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 183.54 points, or 1%, to 18,024.06 recouping a good portion of Thursday's 195-point drop.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 22.78 points, or 1.1%, to 2108.29. The Nasdaq composite index gained 63.97 points, or 1.3%, to 5005.39.
For the week, the Dow dropped 0.3%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq tumbled 1.7%.
May kicks off what has been the worst six months for stocks historically which has brought rise to the old saying "sell in May and go away."
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Economic news released Friday was mixed:
• The Detroit 3 automakers reported booming April sales as new models and cheap loans lured even more buyers into what's already a brisk-moving new-vehicle market. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported sales jumped 6% in April, GM gained 5.9% and Ford rose 5%. Still, their stocks were mixed. Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) dropped 0.6%. Ford (F) rose 0.1% and GM (GM) gained 1%.
• Construction spending fell 0.6% in March as a drop in new home building and government projects offset a rise in nonresidential construction.
• Consumer sentiment rose in April, the University of Michigan says. Its sentiment index rose to 95.9 from 93 the previous month -- second-highest level since 2007.
In corporate news:
• LinkedIn is the latest social media stock to take a pounding following its earnings report. In the wake of lowering its outlook after Thursday's closing bell, LNKD plunged 18.6%.
• Chevron, like fellow Dow component Exxon on Thursday, reported a big dent in its business tied to sinking oil prices. CVX profit fell 43%. Shares dropped 1.8%.
Benchmark U.S. crude sank 48 cents to close at $59.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. oil gained $1.05, or 1.8%, to settle at $59.63 a barrel in New York on Thursday.
Most markets in Asia and Europe are closed for the Labor Day holiday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.1% to 19,531.63.
U.S. stocks were hammered Thursday amid a weakened dollar and economic data that raised fresh fears about interest rate hikes. The Dow fell 195 points.
"Focus remained on the U.S. recovery with investors concerned about growth stalling and employment costs rising," said IG strategist Stan Shamu in a market commentary. "Personal spending and personal income data also fell short, while earnings were more on the disappointing side. This saw investors largely ignore the better-than-expected unemployment claims reading."
Contributing: James R. Healey, Fred Meier.