Stocks rise as coronavirus volatility seizes Wall Street

Stocks rose Wednesday morning, posting solid gains after a Tuesday rally collapsed into losses amid volatility driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 256 points when the market opened Wednesday, rising 1.1 percent after closing Tuesday down 0.1 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose roughly 1 percent, respectively, after meager losses the day before.

Stocks have whipsawed through the past eight weeks as an outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, spread throughout the U.S. and forced the near-total shutdown of social gatherings. 

After crashing through the end of February and through the middle of March, stocks have rallied and fallen in spurts as Wall Street seeks a light at the end of the tunnel from the pandemic and the recession it has caused.

The Dow gave up a 900-point surge Tuesday after closing with a gain of 1,600 points — roughly 7.7 percent — the day before. The Monday rally came after daily deaths due to COVID-19 appeared to drop over the weekend in New York, one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic. 

Public health officials are also concerned that Americans may seize on slivers of optimism and abandon social distancing practices too soon, risking a drastic acceleration of the pandemic’s spread.