Stocks bounce back as oil prices moderate

MARKET ROUNDUP

- By Stan CHOE

The stock market rebounded on Wednesday from two days of punishing swings after oil prices stopped spiking and reports gave encouraging updates on the economy.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.8% and made back most of its losses since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 238 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%.

The strength followed a scary start to Wednesday, when South Korea's Kospi stock index plunged 12.1% for its worst loss in history.

Uncertainty about the war has sent prices in financial markets careening up and down this week, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing.

Oil prices moderated as trading moved westward from Asia to Europe and across the Atlantic. After briefly topping $84 per barrel, the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, settled at $81.40, back to where it was a day earlier. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.1% to $74.66.