Wall Street wobbles a day after tumbling into bear market

Wall Street is wobbling between gains and losses Tuesday in its first trading after tumbling into a bear market on worries about a fragile economy and rising rates.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in early trading after a couple big companies flexed financial strength with stronger profits and payouts to shareholders. It was an unsteady gain, though, with the index swinging between a 0.1% loss and a 0.8% rise within the first half hour.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 points, or less than 0.1%, at 30,522, as of 10:20 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher after swinging between a gain of 0.9% and a loss of 0.3%.

Trading across markets was much calmer, if still tentative, following Monday’s worldwide rout. Treasury yields were easing back from their highest levels in more than a decade. Stocks across Asia and Europe were also mixed, while a