Stock market today: Wall Street claws back some of its losses

U.S. stocks are clawing back some of their losses from the day before as falling oil prices release some of the pressure that’s built up on the market. The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in early trading Tuesday and pulling closer to its all-time high set early last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 130 points, or 0.3%, and nearing its own record. The Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher. Markets around the world sank following scary swings in China, as euphoria about possible stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy gave way to disappointment.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street pushed higher early Tuesday even though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng market plunged more than 9% after Beijing refrained from major spending initiatives as China’s economy slows.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.4% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.2%.

Rising bond yields, which sent stocks tumbling on Monday, stabilized early Tuesday and oil prices fell after five straight days of gains.

U.S. stocks are hovering near record territory out of relief that interest rates are finally heading back down now that the Federal Reserve has widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation.

When Treasury bonds, which are seen as the safest possible investments, are paying more in interest, investors become less inclined to pay very high prices for stocks and other riskier investments.

For investors, it is difficult to ignore that a 10-year Treasury is paying a 4.03% yield, up from 3.62% three weeks ago.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, ticked down to 3.98% on Tuesday after jumping to 3.99% a day earlier.

Treasury yields may also be feeling upward push from the recent jump in oil prices. Crude prices have been surging on fears that worsening tensions in the Middle East could ultimately disrupt the global flow of oil.

Benchmark U.S. crude slipped $1.62 to $75.52. It had gained 3.7% on Monday and is up nearly 11% in October. Brent crude, the international standard, shed $1.68 to $79.25 per barrel. It had also jumped 3.7% Monday.

With earning season kicking off, PepsiCo shares fell 1% after it lowered its organic revenue forecast for the year. U.S. consumers continue to pull back on buying its snacks and drinks after years of price increases.

DocuSign jumped 5.6% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the electronic document signing company would join the S&P MidCap 400. DocuSign will replace MDU Resources, which will be bumped down to the S&P SmallCap 600 after announcing last week that it was spinning off its construction services subsidiary, Everus Construction Group.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index lost 9.4% to close at 20,926.79. Technology and China-related shares led the decline.

Shares initially soared 10% in Shanghai on Tuesday but then slid back a bit as details of economic stimulus plans from officials in Beijing fell short of what investors were hoping for.

The Shanghai Composite index closed 4.6% higher, at 3,489.78. In Shenzhen, Japan’s smaller market, the main index gained 8.9%.

Hong Kong shares had logged strong gains over the past week while markets in mainland China were closed for a weeklong holiday and reopened Tuesday. The advances were fueled by recent announcements of Beijing’s plans for more support for the economy and for financial markets.

“China’s markets rally has hit a wall, leaving investors deflated. The reopening surge from the week-long holiday barely had time to gather steam before fizzling out, and now the once-thrilled bulls are licking their wounds,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Shares in food delivery company Meituan tumbled 15.5% while e-commerce giant Alibaba sank 8.8%. It’s rival JD.com plunged 11.9%.

In other Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1% to 38,937.54. as the dollar fell to 147.79 Japanese yen from 148.18 yen. A stronger yen tends to pull share prices lower since it hurts profits of heavyweight export manufacturers.

The Kospi in Seoul declined 0.6% to 2,594.36. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4% to 8,176.90.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.6% and London’s FTSE 100 declined 1.1%.

The euro rose a touch to $1.0979 from $1.0977.

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AP Business Writer Zen Soo in Hong Kong contributed.

Elaine Kurtenbach And Matt Ott, The Associated Press