NEW YORK — The stock market recovered from early losses and closed modestly higher Thursday after President Barack Obama’s speech on financial reform contained no unpleasant surprises.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 9 points after being down about 108. Broader indexes also turned higher.
The market fell sharply early in the day as Greece’s debt problems worsened and on fears that Obama would advocate tough restrictions on banks. When he didn’t, stocks recovered.
Prices also got a boost from a jump in home resales last month.
In a speech in New York, Obama said the economy is recovering quickly but that progress needs to be felt more deeply among the millions of unemployed Americans. He has blamed Wall Street for helping push the country into recession. Obama’s speech supported his efforts to pass legislation that would overhaul financial markets.
The Senate could debate the financial-overhaul bill next week. The House has already passed its version.
Investors were rattled early in the day by news about Greece.
The country’s borrowing costs surged again when Europe’s statistics agency found that Greece’s budget deficit last year was larger than previously thought. The findings pushed Greece closer to tapping loans from 15 European countries and the International Monetary Fund. Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Greece’s debt and said more downgrades could be coming.
“It rings the alarm bell at least in the very short-term,” said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co., referring to the latest problems in Greece.
The Dow rose 9.37, or 0.1 percent, to 11,134.29. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.73, or 0.2 percent, to 1,208.67, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 14.46, or 0.6 percent, to 2,519.07.
