Battered stocks rallied in late morning trading yesterday amid a volatile mix of margin selling, bargain-hunting and upbeat earnings reports.
Clawing out of one of the worst weeks ever, the market, which tumbled on Friday on fears of higher interest rates, seesawed as it tried to find its footing.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was up 96 points, or 0.93 percent, at 10,401. The 30-share Dow, home to some of the best-known US corporate names, slid 5.66 percent on Friday.
The technology-laden NASDAQ composite index was up 120 points, or 3.62 percent, at 3,441 points. The index fell 94 points at the opening, but then climbed into the black.
The NASDAQ composite fell 25 percent last week, the worst performance ever by a major US stock index. It plunged almost 10 percent on Friday alone.
"We've seen a lot of ups and downs, mostly up. I'm expecting a wild day," said Peter Coolidge, senior equity trader at Brean Murray and Co.
The S&P 500 was up 18 points, or 1.32 percent, at 1,375.
Declines led advances by 1,778 to 943 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Analysts said Wall Street was being roiled by investors who had bought stocks on margin -- simply put, by borrowing money from brokers -- and were forced to sell their holdings to pay back loans.
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