US Stocks Stage Partial Rebound From Rout

Wall Street stocks staged a partial rebound on Thursday from the prior session's rout following mixed economic data as shares of GameStop and others continued to gyrate.

The Dow Jones finished up 1.0 percent at 30,603.

The S&P 500 also won 1.0 percent to 3,787, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 percent to 13,337.

Major indices had shed more than two percent on Wednesday due in part to worries about the coronavirus and lofty valuations.

Investors had also been rattled by massive jumps in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and others, but the market applauded new restrictions on these trades by TD Ameritrade and Robinhood, analysts said.

Wednesday's big fall set the stage for bargain-hunting on Thursday.

"The restrictions put in place regarding the retail traders by the platforms... (have) helped to calm the market down," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

"The worry in the market was, if this continue at this pace, it could cause even more damage to the overall market."

Both GameStop and AMC fell sharply.

The Commerce Department said the US economy shrunk by 3.5 percent last year, with the growth of 4.0 percent annualised in the fourth quarter moderating from the torrid paces of the second and third quarters.

Other data showed an unexpectedly big drop in new jobless claims.

A plethora of large companies, including Apple, McDonald's, Comcast and Tesla, reported results. Most topped expectations, but shares of these companies were mixed.

Among those releasing results were American Airlines, which jumped 9.3 percent after reporting a smaller-than-expected loss.

Like GameStop and others, American has been targed by short-sellers and was mentioned in a Reddit forum that has been instrumental in this week's market upheaval. (AFP)