Stocks surge on Wall Street; Dow jumps 800 points, or 4%

NEW YORK — Stocks are opening sharply higher on Wall Street a day after the worst drop since 1987.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 800 points, or 4% early Friday. That's far less than half of what the index lost a day earlier.

European markets surged about 7% a day after one of their worst drops on record.

The wild swings continued as governments stepped up precautions against the spread of the new coronavirus and considered ways to cushion the blow to their economies.

Asian markets ended a volatile day mostly lower. Central banks in China, Sweden and Norway also stepped in to support bond markets.