Stocks rebound as anxiety over British vote eases

U.S. stock indexes mounted a broad comeback Tuesday as investors set aside their anxiety over Britain's vote to leave the European Union and snapped up shares following a two-day rout.

Encouraging data on the U.S. economy and housing market helped put traders in a buying mood. The broad rally followed even bigger gains in Europe, which also bounced back from the steep losses triggered by Britain's "leave" vote last Thursday.

Oil and gas companies led the rally as energy prices rose. Banks and other financial companies, which took the heaviest losses in the sell-off, also surged. Health care, consumer and technology stocks also notched gains. Bond prices fell, sending yields higher.

"We were due for a bounce heading into the morning; we had a couple of tough days there," said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "Investors are stepping up and seeing some areas that may have been oversold the past couple of days and redeploying some of their cash."

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 269.48 points, or 1.6 percent, to 17,409.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 35.55 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,036.09. The Nasdaq composite added 97.42 points, or 2.1 percent, to 4,691.87.

Despite the rebound, the three indexes remain on track to end June in the red. They're also down for the year.

European benchmarks had an even better day than U.S. indexes. Britain's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 each gained 2.6 percent. Germany's DAX added 1.9 percent.

The euro and the British pound recovered somewhat, though the pound remained near the 30-year lows it plunged to immediately following the British "leave" vote.