Stocks Rebound After Sharp Sell-Off

Investors moved back into the battered stock market Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrials sharply higher and helping the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite recover from a steep decline to finish modestly lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 124.72. The blue-chip index had risen as much as 216 points in earlier trading; it lost 359.58 on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq ended a highly volatile session with a loss of 24.15 at 3,877.54. In early trading, the index fell as much as 166 points and appeared likely to extend Tuesday’s plunge of a record 229 points, or 5.6 percent. But a late rally trimmed most of the daily decline.