US stocks rallied at the open today as quarterly earnings reports from blue chips like Intel and Citigroup boosted sentiment on Wall Street after a seven-day losing streak.
The Dow Jones industrial average raked in a gain of 213 points, or 2.52 per cent, to 8,687 in early trading.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 23.80 points, or 2.68 per cent, to 925, after its lowest close since August 1997 yesterday. The Nasdaq jumped 50 points, or 3.65 per cent, to 1,425.
Last night Intel the world's largest maker of computer chips, posted quarterly revenue and earnings at the low end of expectations, but earnings still more than doubled from the year-ago quarter and it forecast flat to higher revenue in the third quarter.
Intel climbed $1.23 to $19.60, a rise of more than 6 percent.
Citigroup posted a 15 per cent rise in quarterly profits, as growth in consumer lending and bonds businesses offset dwindling stock market-related revenues. Citigroup jumped $1.31 to $37.51.
This week marks one of the busiest weeks of the second-quarter earnings season. Investors, bruised by a rash of sell-offs that have pushed much of the market to 1997 lows, are hungry for signs that corporate profits are on the mend.