Stocks bounce back after two-day slide

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Friday's gains follow two days of sell-offs that marked the biggest two-day drop in U.S. stocks this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq moved up between 0.4% and 0.6%.

All three indexes are on track for their worst week of 2013. A pullback is not unusual though, given how well the market has done so far this year. Investors rushed back into stocks at the beginning of the year, and continue to add money to the U.S. stock market, but at a much more tempered pace.

CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index has also eased into greed (it had been stuck in extreme greed since the start of the year). And the market's other fear gauge, the VIX (VIX), has jumped more than 17% over the past five days, although it still has a ways to go before it crosses deep into fear mode.

Related: Investors' rush into stocks slows

Despite the recent losses, the Dow is still up nearly 6% since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 (DIVD)has gained 5% and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is up almost 4%.

After the closing bell Thursday, Hewlett Packard reported its first-quarter profit fell 11% from a year ago, and sales declined 6%. But expectations for HP are so low that the figures came in above analysts' estimates, sending shares of HP (HPQ, Fortune 500) up 8%.

AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) also reported better-than-expected earnings after the bell on Thursday, pushing the stock up nearly 5%.

European markets staged a partial recovery from Thursday's sell-off in morning trading, although the mood remained cautious ahead of new official European growth forecasts due later Friday, and a key election in Italy this weekend.

Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei added 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng lost 0.5%.

Related: Check gas prices in your state

Gas prices have risen for 36 straight days. Nationwide, a gallon of unleaded gasoline cost an average of $3.78 Friday, according to AAA. That's up 49 cents, or 15% since January 17, when prices started rising.

Oil prices edged higher while gold prices declined.

The dollar lost ground versus the British pound but gained against the euro and the Japanese yen.

The price on the 10-year Treasury increased slightly, pushing the yield down to 1.97% from 1.98% Thursday.

First Published: February 22, 2013: 9:42 AM ET

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