Stock market news today: Stocks rally to snap 3-day market rout as S&P 500, Nasdaq lead comeback

Aug 06,2024

US stocks finished Tuesday's session solidly in the green following a three-day rout that wiped out a healthy chunk of 2024's market gains.

The benchmark S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) led the day's session, each rising about 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) closed up around 0.8%, or roughly 300 points.

Stocks got crushed on Monday, part of a tailspin on Wall Street that served as a boisterous reaction to fresh concern over the health of the US economy and its labor market. The S&P 500 had its worst day since 2022 and capped its worst start to any month since 2002.

The benchmark had shed around 6% in the past three sessions, but Tuesday's rally helped push year-to-date gains to around 10%.

Wall Street's "fear gauge" — the CBOE Volatility Index ( ^VIX ) — touched its highest level since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday. On Tuesday, it fell back to earth, to levels seen often in 2022.

Some of the market's biggest names also saw a a rejuvenation. The "Magnificent 7" stocks lost more than $650 billion in market cap on Monday but saw better fortunes Tuesday. Nvidia ( NVDA ), which led the way down, rose over 3.5%. Tesla ( TSLA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) rose about 1%, while Meta ( META ) jumped nearly 4%.

Cryptocurrencies, which weren't spared from the rout, also rose in tandem with the optimism. Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) rose back above the $55,000 level. Meanwhile, the global sell-off also steadied: Japan's Nikkei ( ^N225 ) index closed up over 10%.

The coming days — and weeks — will provide key signals for what comes next. As Yahoo Finance's Myles Udland writes , stocks still have the same problem waking up Tuesday that they did Monday: the Federal Reserve. The Fed has come under mounting pressure to act , as around three-quarters of traders now expect a 50-basis-point rate cut at its next meeting.