Stocks higher on Wall Street a day after broad decline

Stocks were higher in early trading Tuesday, as investors shake off a rout from the day before brought on by concerns about the spread of a more contagious variant of COVID-19.

The S&P 500 index was up 0.9% as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4%. On Monday the S&P 500 fell 1.6%, its biggest single-day drop since May.

The spread of the more contagious delta variant of COVID-19 has become a worry spot for investors and policymakers. While tens of millions of Americans have gotten vaccinated, there remains a significant percentage of Americans who are either reluctant or outright hostile to the idea of vaccinated.

Los Angeles Country last weekend reinstituted an indoor mask mandate as the region's infection rate was climbing quickly yet again. Other parts of the country, like Southern Missouri, are flooded with COVID cases that are straining hospitals once again.

Bond yields fell sharply on Monday on fears that the strong economic recovery from the pandemic could be put at risk from additional lockdowns or coronavirus cases. The yield of the 10-year Treasury note was 1.16%, down from 1.18% the day before. Barely a week ago, the 10-year note was trading at a yield of 1.33%.

Wall Street is also in the midst of earnings reporting season. IBM rose more than 3% after the company reported better than expected revenue and profits, helped by its cloud computing business.