U.S. stocks trade higher after heavy sell-off

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Monday as the market recovered from a heavy weekly sell-off.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 272.64 points, or 1.13 percent, to 24,463.54. The S&P 500 increased 22.82 points, or 0.87 percent, to 2,642.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 63.77 points, or 0.93 percent, to 6,938.27.

Last week, all three major indices slumped deeply, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq plunging 5.21 percent, 5.16 percent and 5.06 percent, respectively, notching their worst weekly performance in nearly two years.

Traders said that the investors' move to lock in profits, possibly some computer-programed trading, combined with concerns about interest rates have sent the equities into correction territory.

Most analysts believed that the recent pullback was not linked to economic fundamentals. Instead, it was a healthy market correction that is welcomed and long overdue.

However, financial service company Societe Generale remains cautious for 2018 as extreme positioning, tapering of central bank liquidity and underestimated risks of inflation repricing may continue to exert pressure on risk assets.

With no major data due out on Monday, investors watched closely the latest news that the White House unveiled a long-awaited infrastructure plan that includes 200-billion-U.S.-dollar in federal infrastructure spending over 10 years. Enditem