U.S. stock benchmarks on Wednesday opened higher and were on pace to bounce back from a Federal Reserve-fueled selloff after Tuesday’s congressional testimony unsettled Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100 points, or 0.4%, to 25,515, while the S&P 500 index added 12 points, or 0.4%, at 2,756. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 39 points, or 0.5%, at 7,367. On Tuesday, the main U.S. benchmarks registered their biggest one-day drop since they officially slipped into correction territory — defined as a drop from a recent peak of at least 10% — on Feb. 8. Much of Tuesday’s decline was attributed to a reading of comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who signaled that the economy was strengthening at a rate sufficient to warrant further rate increases in 2018. Despite Wednesday’s climb, equity benchmarks were on pace for the worst February in about a decade. On Wednesday, a reading of gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the U.S., rose at a 2.5% seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. In corporate news, investors were watching shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. after its CEO said the retailer would stop selling assault weapons, while shares of Booking Holdings Inc. rallied after the company formerly known as Priceline Group Inc. late Tuesday reported earnings and sales above forecasts.
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