Wall Street rebounds slightly with help from GE, tech stocks

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with gains for General Electric and technology stocks helping Wall Street recoup some losses from a day earlier on escalating global trade tensions.

GE jumped 7.6 percent in heavy trading, the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P 500, after the company said it will spin off its healthcare business and divest its stake in oil-services company Baker Hughes, leaving the once-sprawling conglomerate focused on jet engines, power plants and renewable energy.

The S&P technology index rose 0.6 percent, the biggest gainer among the major S&P sectors.

The Dow on Monday closed below its 200-day moving average for the first time since June 2016 as investors digested conflicting signals from the Trump administration over proposed restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. technology companies.

"After a rough day like yesterday, investors are evaluating the damage done and looking for some stability," Andre Bakhos, managing director at New Vines Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey said.

"If the markets can focus on the economy, everything is set up in a bullish way except for the concerns of trade."

After initial reports on Monday that only Chinese investments would come under check, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Twitter that restrictions would apply, not specifically to China, but "to all countries that are trying to steal our technology". White House trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro later said only China was targeted.

China's major stock indexes posted a 20 percent decline from their January peaks, a threshold that defines a 'bear' market.

At 9:54 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 19.99 points, or 0.08 percent, at 24,272.79, the S&P 500 was up 3.88 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,720.95 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 28.48 points, or 0.38 percent, at 7,560.48.

U.S. homebuilder Lennar jumped about 7 percent as strong housing demand helped the company report better-than-expected quarterly results.

Micron Technology rose 1.6 percent after UBS raised the rating on the company's stock to "neutral" from "sell".

Advanced Micro Devices gained 3 percent and Nvidia rose 1.8 percent after brokerage Benchmark Co started coverage on the companies.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 22 new highs and 26 new lows.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)