U.S. Stocks Erase Declines; Dow Recovers From 102-Point Retreat

U.S. stocks erased losses as investors speculated that recent declines overshot the potential damage from a slowdown in the economy.

Home Depot Inc., Pfizer Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. climbed at least 0.7 percent to help the Dow Jones Industrial Average recover from a 102-point slide.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 1,051.3 at 2:12 p.m. in New York after briefly slumping to as low as 1,039.83. The Dow rose 1.14 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,041.59.

“Because the 1,040 level held, that was viewed as a positive technical signal,” said Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, a Birmingham, Alabama-based senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management, which oversees $17 billion. “Short-term traders started buying. The selloff did not continue.”