Stocks Close Down But Not Before Rip Your Face Off Rally in Beaten Down Names

Stocks closed lower Wednesday but the big news was the absolutely breathtaking rally off the lows. At one point the Dow was down 565 points but finished down 249. The Nasdaq was down as much as 3% but finished flat.

Stocks in the most beaten up groups, including energy and biotech, surged as shorts covered and dip buyers stepped in.

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NYSE: IBB) closed up 2.8%. Beaten down name like Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ESPR) and Relypsa, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLYP) closed up 16% and 6%, respectively. Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG), the highest-weighed stock in the IBB, saw an intra-day swing of 8% and closed up 4.4%.

In energy, Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL), which hit a 52-week low earlier in the session, closed up 6%. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) surged 8% and was halted on a circuit breaker after trading to new multi-year lows earlier in the session. Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) surged off the lows to close up 2.3%.

Another beaten down stock that saw upside was Twitter (NYSE: TWTR). Shares surged as much as 14% after trading down 7% earlier in the session. Rumors that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp was buying a stake contributed to the upside. However, that rumor was later denied. Shares closed up 4%.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Apple (AAPL) announces 'Let Loose,' a special online event to be held in May
• Nanometrics (NANO) Issues Business Update, Reports FY23 Results
• Ball Corporation (BALL) Raises Dividend, Enters 40M Share Buyback, Announces Management Changes