US stocks rebounded on Wednesday after financial results from Walt Disney Co and Time Warner Inc fed optimism that companies outside the financial sector have performed well. Adding another ray of hope, the Labour Department reported higher worker productivity and a less-than-expected increase in an inflation measure during last year's fourth quarter.
Shares of Disney jumped more than 5 percent on earnings that topped Wall Street estimates, while Time Warner shares rose more than 3 percent after it said it expects profit growth to match or beat Wall Street expectations. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 51.78 points, or 0.42 percent, at 12,316.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.47 points, or 0.48 percent, at 1,343.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 12.85 points, or 0.56 percent, at 2,322.42.
Manufacturers such as Caterpillar Inc staged a comeback after suffering sharp losses on Tuesday amid recession fears. Disney shares rose $1.64 to $31.71 and Time Warner was up $3.96 to $16.01. Caterpillar shares climbed 1.8 percent to $68.76.