Dow, S&P still headed for their worst week since the financial crisis. PHOTO: REUTERS
After Wall Street's worst daily sell-off in more than three decades, the indices recouped some of their losses on optimism that US Democrats and Republicans could announce a stimulus package by Friday.
The Dow and the S&P 500 indices, which had crashed almost 10% on Thursday, are still headed for their worst week since the financial crisis.
At 9:58 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 509.71 points, or 2.40%, at 21,710.33 and the S&P 500 was up 73.08 points, or 2.95%, at 2,553.72. The Nasdaq Composite was up 207.16 points, or 2.88%, at 7,408.58.
Travel stocks, which have borne the brunt of the rout, led gains, with the S&P 1,500 airlines index up 3.4%.
Cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings advanced 6.8%.
"What we're headed for is a market that should begin to settle down (with) investors now expecting the government to get the economic plan in place and get it into law," said Peter Cardillo, Chief Market Economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Apple Inc rose 3.9% as the iPhone maker said it would reopen all 42 of its branded stores in China. The stock provided the biggest boost to the blue-chip Dow index.
All the S&P sectors firmed at least 2%, with the heavyweight technology sector leading the gains, up 3.7%.
The rate-sensitive financial sector gained 4.5%.
Energy stocks rose 5% as crude prices rebounded, after suffering their worst four-day declines on record.
The CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge for investor anxiety, fell 3.6 points to 71.91 after its biggest-ever one-day surge in history on Thursday.
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