US stocks opened up on Thursday after a steep dive a day earlier amid ongoing fears of a global recession, according to dpa. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 91.28, or 1.06 per cent, to 8,669.19 about 10 minutes after the opening bell. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index picked up 10.44 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 918.28 at 9:42 am (1342 GMT). The technology heavy Nasdaq Composite Index earned 9.23 to 1,637.56. The gains were spurred in part by news that inflation had held stead in September, making further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve more likely. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labour Department's consumer price index remained "virtually unchanged" in September from the previous month after seeing its first decrease in two years in August with a fall of 0.1 per cent. Prices increased 4.9 per cent year-over-year, after a 12-month increase of 5.4 per cent in August. On Wednesday, the Dow fell by 733.08 points, or 7.87 per cent, to 8,577.91, nearly erasing a massive rally on Monday in what had been a brief glimmer of hope following the rush by governments to stave off wider economic fallout caused by the financial crisis. The broad-based Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost the largest share, plunging by 9.03 per cent, or 90.17 points, to 907.84 when trading concluded. The Nasdaq Composite declined by 150.68 points, or 8.47 per cent, to 1628.33.
