* 3M slips on downbeat 2020 profit forecast
* U.S. consumer confidence rises in January
* Dow up 0.96%, S&P 500 up 1.26%, Nasdaq up 1.58%
(Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)
By Sruthi Shankar
Jan 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rebounded on Tuesday, with
the S&P 500 bouncing back from its worst day in nearly four
months, led by a climb in Apple and other names after concerns
on the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China
sparked a sell-off last week.
Markets across the world stabilized as the head of the World
Health Organization (WHO) said he was confident in China's
ability to stem the virus outbreak, which has killed 106 people
in the country, prompted businesses to close operations and
curbed travel. Still, the U.S. health secretary said new steps were being
considered to counter the virus, including travel restrictions
to China. "Obviously, with the China coronavirus uncertainty will
breed volatility in the market until there is some sort of
endgame to where this thing will be under control," said Jeff
Zipper, managing director of investments at U.S. Bank Private
Wealth Management in Florida.
Sectors that were hit hardest on Monday saw their fortunes
reverse, with technology .SPLRCT and financials .SPSY among
the best performers on the session.
Helping to dampen concerns about a hit from the virus to the
economy was data that showed U.S. consumer confidence surged to
a five-month high in January. "The consumer confidence numbers this morning certainly
helped because the consumer seems to be backstopping the market
and the economy, in addition to what the Fed has been doing,"
said Zipper.
Apple Inc AAPL.O shares led each of the three major
indexes higher, up 2.76% ahead of its fourth-quarter results
expected after markets close.
Investors will keep a close watch on Apple's earnings amid
concerns of a disruption in iPhone production as the coronavirus
spreads across major markets such as China.
Apple's gains helped lift the S&P technology index 2.01%,
while financial stocks gained 1.50% as a climb in Treasury
yields helped big banks rebound. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 273.25 points,
or 0.96%, to 28,809.05, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 40.94 points,
or 1.26%, to 3,284.57 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
144.50 points, or 1.58%, to 9,283.81.
Expectations for fourth-quarter earnings have been slowly
improving and are now expected to show a decline of 0.4%,
according to Refinitiv data. Of the 104 companies that have
reported so far, 68.3% have topped expectations, lagging the
average rate of 74% from the past four quarters.
Results were mixed on Tuesday, with U.S. industrial giant 3M
Co MMM.N sliding 5.29% after it forecast 2020 profit below
expectations as weak demand from China dents overall
growth. Pfizer Inc PFE.N dropped 4.99% after the drugmaker
reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and said it
would no longer rely on share repurchases to help drive
growth. Shares in Xerox Holdings Corp XRX.N jumped 5.89% after the
company's profit beat analysts' estimates as it kept a tight lid
on costs. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a 2.49-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.25-to-1 ratio favored
advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 37 new lows.