Banks and other financial companies led another broad surge in U.S. stocks Wednesday, turning the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slightly positive for the year.
It was the second rally in two days for the stock market, which had been rattled since Friday by investor concerns over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Those worries eased Wednesday as traders shifted money back into stocks. The gains over Tuesday and Wednesday erased more than half of the losses U.S. markets suffered in the two-day slide that kicked off on Friday.
Britain’s stock market has recouped all its losses in the same stretch, but other major markets in Europe and Asia have yet to bounce back fully. Markets in France, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong have gotten back about half the ground they lost; Brazil’s has recouped about three-quarters.
“The market has moved from a shock,” said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank. “The worries around Brexit are now moving from short-term worries to long-term worries, and that’s why we’re seeing this dramatic rebound in the market.”
The Dow gained 284.96 points, or 1.6 percent, to 17,694.68. The S&P 500 index rose 34.68 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,070. The Nasdaq composite added 87.38 points, or 1.9 percent, to 4,779.25.
European stock indexes posted gains that eclipsed Wall Street’s for the second day in a row. The British pound edged up against the dollar following its plunge to 31-year lows after the British vote last week.
Britain’s benchmark stock index, the FTSE 100, gained 3.6 percent, while Germany’s DAX rose 1.7 percent. France’s CAC 40 added 2.6 percent.
On Wall Street, financial companies, which had taken the brunt of the selling after the British “leave” vote, rose 2.3 percent. The sector is still down 5.6 percent for the year.
Citigroup jumped 4.2 percent, adding $1.68 to $42.12, while American Express rose $2.02, or 3.5 percent, to $59.63. JPMorgan Chase gained $1.68, or 2.8 percent, to $61.20.
