Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] It didn't take long for the major indices to recoup a large portion of yesterday's losses, fueled by buy-the-dip interest, short-covering activity, and leadership from the mega-cap stocks.

The reversal of fortune is being treated now as more of a "tactical" trade from an oversold posture and a contrarian-minded sentiment trade, with The Wall Street Journal reporting the Dow Jones Industrial Average is on track for its worst April since 1932 and that the level of bearish sentiment among individual investors has held above 50% for eight straight weeks, marking the longest such streak for records dating back to 1987, according to the American Association for Individual Investors.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors have started today's session in positive territory, and nine are up at least 1.0%. The biggest gainers out of the gate are consumer discretionary (+1.9%), financials (+1.7%), utilities (+1.7%), and communication services (+1.6%). Advancers lead decliners by an 11-to-1 margin at the NYSE.

Separately, the U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.3% to 98.59 and the 10-yr note yield is down three basis points to 4.38%.