The daily business briefing: February 7, 2018

U.S. stocks face more pressure after Tuesday's rise, SpaceX launches the world's strongest rocket, and more

Traders on the New York Stock Exchange floor
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

1. U.S. stocks rise in volatile trading, but futures drop again

U.S. stocks snapped out of a sell-off Tuesday in a volatile day of trading, although futures dropped by nearly 1 percent early Wednesday, giving up part of the rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 568 points or 2.3 percent on Tuesday, a day after losing 1,175 points, the biggest daily loss in history, measured in points. The Dow plunged by more than 500 points at the opening bell, then reversed course before making big gains just before the closing bell. The chief executive officer at Boston Private Wealth, Tom Anderson, explained the bumpy trading to The Wall Street Journal: "No one wants to catch a falling knife," he said, "so investors are looking to see things firm up or fall a bit more before buying."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.