Bernanke Calms Jittery Markets

Updated from 12:15 p.m. EST

Wednesday's stock market action was like watching a big hitter step up to the plate, dig his cleats into the dirt, take a couple of practice swings, and then step out of the batter's box just as the pitcher starts his windup.

The market couldn't get off the ground no matter how hard traders tried to make it soar. Weak economic data weighed down enthusiasm for a bounce. But the day could have been much worse, were it not for the soothing words of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

In the face of dismal new-home sales and a downward revision to the fourth-quarter GDP, the Dow Jones Industrial Average followed up its worst day in over five years by regaining about one eighth of Tuesday's decline. After trading as low as 12,186 and as high as 12,353.47 intraday, the Dow closed up 0.4% to 12,268.63. The S&P 500 finished Wednesday back up 0.6% to close at 1406.82, and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 0.3% to 2416.13.

China's stock market, largely blamed for Tuesday's global selloff, rebounded smartly overnight. The Shanghai Composite gained back 3.9% after its sharp 8.8% decline Monday. But other Asian markets slid further: Japan's Nikkei fell 3%, Hong Kong's Hang Sent fell 2.5% and South Korea's benchmark index fell 2.6%. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.8% as well.

"I think it is a healthy bounce," Todd Leone, head of listed trading at Cowen & Co., says of the U.S. markets. But he warns that there may be more weakness ahead. "You always say, 'The market needs a correction,' so we got it, but it takes a while to flush out. It can't go straight up."