Airlines lead stock market higher

NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market is rebounding a day after a big-sell off brought on by concerns over a slowdown in China.

Stocks rose in midday trading Wednesday, regaining much of the ground lost the day before, as traders saw overnight gains in China as an encouraging sign that the country's surprise interest rate hike will not dampen the global economy.

A batch of mainly positive corporate earnings reports from companies like Delta Air Lines Inc. and Boeing Co. also helped send the stock market broadly higher in late morning trading.

The Shanghai Composite Index, China's main stock market benchmark, rose 0.2 percent in overnight trading. Those gains "helped create a more constructive tone for the trade this morning," said Nick Kalivas, an equity analyst for MF Global.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 155.0, or 1.4 percent, to 11,133.62. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 index was up 15.5, or 1.3 percent, to 1,181.43, and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite index was up 29.8, or 1.2 percent, to 2,466.83.

Delta rose 10 percent after the company announced a profit driven by a 19 percent jump in passenger revenue. That helped push shares of competitors like Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines up more than 3 percent.

Boeing rose 2.2 percent after the aircraft manufacturer raised its profit forecast for the year and said that it expects to sell more commercial airplanes. Boeing was the top performer among the 30 companies in the Dow.

Every component of the Standard and Poor's 500 showed gains. Financials were the weakest as investors continue to question what the impact will be over reports that the New York Federal Reserve will join institutional bond holders in an effort to force Bank of America Corp. to repurchase billions of dollars in mortgage bonds issued by Countrywide Financial, which BofA purchased in 2008. The North Carolina bank was down 42 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $11.38.

Before the market opened, San Francisco bank Wells Fargo & Co. announced that it beat profit forecasts but missed slightly on revenues, while Morgan Stanley reported a loss of 7 cents per share on special charges. Shares of Wells Fargo were up $1.10, or 4.5 percent, at $25.65. Shares of Morgan Stanley edged up 18 cents to $25.57.

Traders will get more insight into the U.S. economy later Wednesday when the Federal Reserve issues its beige book report, which breaks down the health of the economy by region.

West Coast Internet companies eBay Inc. and Netflix Inc. will report results after the market closes.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.9 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of blue-chip companies in Europe rose 0.2 percent. The dollar fell 1.4 percent against a broad basket of currenices.

Bond prices traded in a tight range. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.46 percent from 2.48 percent late Tuesday.

Shares of Delta were up $1.18 to $12.87, while shares of Boeing were up $1.67 to $70.70. Jet Blue was up 53 cents to $7.03, and Southwest was up 48 cents to $13.17.