NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks bounced early Tuesday after Russia signaled a more conciliatory posture in the Ukraine crisis while investors shrugged off evidence of intensifying US inflation.

Russia said it was pulling back some of its forces near the Ukrainian border to their bases, in what could be the first major step towards de-escalation after weeks of tensions with the West.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported its producer price index rose one percent, seasonally adjusted, in January, twice what analysts had forecast.

The report comes amid broad investor anxiety over a shift in Federal Reserve monetary policy, with multiple interest rate hikes expected in 2022.

Asian markets drop on Fed rate fears as US inflation rages

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.4 percent to 35,039.14.

The broad-based S&P also gained 1.4 percent to 4,465.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.8 percent to 14,036.59.

Marriott International jumped 4.7 percent as the hotel chain reported $468 million in quarterly profits, up from a loss in the year-ago period as revenues more than doubled on the shifting Covid-19 pandemic.

Tower Semiconductor surged 42 percent as it announced a deal to be acquired by Intel for $5.4 billion. Intel was flat.