Stocks rise after three days of losses, Bitcoin drops 11%

Stocks were posting strong gains in afternoon trading Thursday, following three days of losses and the biggest one-day drop in the S&P 500 since February

Stocks were posting strong gains in afternoon trading Thursday, following three days of losses and the biggest one-day drop in the S&P 500 since February. Technology stocks, which were hurt hard earlier in the week, were among the bigger gainers. Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook were all up nearly 1% or more. The S&P 500 was up 1.1% as of 1:02 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 368 points, or 1.1%, to 33,956 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%. It’s not uncommon for markets to reverse direction after sharp gains or losses over a period of days as investors reassess markets and pause during period of volatility. Investors have had things to be concerned about. Last week’s jobs report was showed fewer employers hiring than had been expected, and on Thursday the government reported that wholesale prices jumped 0.6% last month, driven by higher costs for services and food. That was more than expected and the latest indication that inflation pressures are mounting.