NEW YORK: US stocks rose sharply Tuesday after a late rebound in China's market encouraged traders. Stocks were also rebounding from a sell-off on Friday when a mixed jobs report left investors uncertain about the outlook for interest rates. There was also some deal news for investors to focus on. Trading was closed in the US on Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 30 points, or 1.6 percent, to 1,951 as of 11:09 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 260 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,360. The Nasdaq composite gained 82 points, or 1.8 percent, to 4,765.

CHINA TRADE: China's stock market rebounded despite some disappointing news on its economy. China's exports shrank 5.5 percent last month compared with a year earlier, while imports tumbled 13.8 percent. August's figures were hit by disruption from a massive explosion at the busy Tianjin port and government-enforced factory shutdowns in the run-up to a huge military parade in Beijing last week. China's trade has been weak for months, reflecting muted global demand and a domestic slowdown.

VOLATILE STOCKS: The stock market has been volatile for the past three weeks as investors have worried that growth in China, the world's second-largest economy, is slowing more rapidly than previously thought. Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates in the US has also unsettled investors.

THE QUOTE: "China came out with some horrible trade numbers, yet the market is ignoring them," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. "That's a good sign, and perhaps the market has now discounted the worst of the China news."

POWER DEALS: Teco energy surged after Canadian energy and services company Emera said it would buy the electric and gas utility company for about $6.5 billion. Teco's stock jumped $5.02, or 24 percent, to $26.10. Meredith jumped $4.45, or 9.6 percent, to $50.37 after agreeing to be acquired by fellow media company Media General.

EUROPE'S DAY: Germany's DAX advanced 1.8 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 1.2 percent and the CAC 40 in France gained 1.3 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index sank 2.4 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.9 percent in a rebound from losses earlier in the day. Recent gains in Chinese stocks have been attributed to buying by government agencies aiming to halt a dramatic sell-off that began in June. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 3.3 percent.

ENERGY: Benchmark US crude edged up 15 cents to $46.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, raised $1.89 $49.52 a barrel in London.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: US government bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year benchmark Treasury note up to 2.19 percent from 2.13 percent on Friday. The euro rose to $1.1182 from $1.1168. The dollar rose to 119.76 from 119.39 yen.