Wall St Up On Bargain Hunting, Geithner Awaited

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors snapped shares in beaten-down sectors including financials, materials and healthcare a day after the market hit lows not seen since 1997.

Investors held out hope that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would shed light on plans to shore up the financial system a day after Wall Street slid to a 12-year low.

His testimony will follow an appearance on Capitol Hill by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, due to testify on the economy at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).

Among financials, shares of Bank of America climbed 6.6 percent to $3.87, while JP Morgan rose 1.9 percent to $21.56.

In the pharmaceutical sector shares of Merck & Co rose 2.3 percent to $23.96, making the stock one of the top boosts to the Dow.

"When you reach certain levels of oversold you're going to get a bounce. and when the bounce is beginning you don't know if it is anything more than a short-covering bounce," said Tom Alexander, head of Alexander Trading in Savannah, Georgia.

Bernanke is due to testify at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) while Geithner's testimony on U.S. President Barack Obama's budget will start at 12.30 p.m. (1730 GMT). Pending home sales data are due at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 48.99 points, or 0.72 percent, at 6,812.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 7.13 points, or 1.02 percent, at 707.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13.74 points, or 1.04 percent, at 1,336.59.