Stocks staged a rebound late Tuesday, with the Dow industrials and Standard & Poor's 500 index rallying near the end of a volatile session, following a surge in commodity prices and financial shares. Stocks were volatile in the morning, as investors considered U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Ben Bernanke's positive remarks about the economy along with continued fears about the global outlook. By the early afternoon, the Dow and S&P 500 had turned higher as investors watched the rising euro currency and a rally in commodities. Bernanke said Monday night that he does not expect the U.S. economy to fall back into a recession. He also said the steps European leaders were taking to control rising deficits were helping. Gold for August delivery rose $4.80 to a record high of $1,245.60 an ounce. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery rose 55 cents to $71.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. dollar fell 0.1 percent versus the euro, which hit a new four-year low Monday, and the dollar fell 0.1 percent against the yen. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 123.49, or 1.3 percent, to 9,939.98. McDonald's reported higher global and U.S. sales but warned that full-year profits would be hurt by the impact of the weak euro. Shares of the fast-food giant rose 2 percent. Other gainers included Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble, DuPont, Caterpillar, and Boeing. The broader S&P 500 index rose 11.53, or 1.1 percent, to 1,062.00. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index erased bigger afternoon losses, falling 3.33, or 0.15 percent, to 2,170.57. Losers included Intel, eBay, Oracle, and Microsoft.
