Stocks Opened Higher after Rout

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday after a rout Wednesday erased the S&P 500 and Dow’s year-to-date gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 222.62 points, or 0.91%, to 24,806.04. The S&P 500 was up 29.45 points, or 1.11%, to 2,685.55. The Nasdaq Composite gained 138.14 points, or 1.94%, to 7,246.54.

Oil futures were little changed early Thursday as stocks attempted to stabilize a day after a rout that left U.S. equities sharply lower. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery edged 2 cents higher to $66.84 a barrel, while December Brent crude was up 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $76.27 a barrel.

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods fell for a second straight month in September and the goods trade deficit increased further amid rising imports, suggesting economic growth moderated in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft dipped 0.1 percent last month. The goods trade deficit increased 0.8 percent to $76.0 billion in September.