U.S. Markets End Slump, Posting Large Gains As Dow Rises 619 Points

The U.S. financial markets finally closed on a high note Wednesday, with gains of nearly 4 percent seen in both the Dow Jones index and the S&P 500 — and even higher gains for the Nasdaq index.

The rally follows six days of losses for markets that have been shaken by news about China's currency and economy.

NPR's Joel Rose reports:

"Traders were also nervous that the Federal Reserve could raise its key interest for the first time in years. But they seemed to take some comfort from the president of New York Fed, who said the case for a rate hike seemed 'less compelling' than before.

"Despite the rally on Wall Street, markets in Europe and Asia closed lower."

The S&P 500 index finished the day at 1,940, for a 3.9 percent gain. The Nasdaq composite index finished at 4,698, for a 4.24 percent gain, and the Dow rose 619 points to 16,286 at the close.

Before today's rally, the most staggering day may have been Monday, when the Dow Jones index plummeted by more than 1,000 points, or 5 percent, in early trading before recovering somewhat to finish with a loss of around 3.6 percent of its value.

Those losses were followed by a smaller drop Tuesday, with main U.S. indices losing more than 1 percent of their value.