Wall Street on the rebound

US stocks surged, with benchmark indexes rebounding from 11-month lows this week, and Treasuries fell as a drop in jobless claims and higher than estimated earnings tempered concern the economy is slowing amid a worsening European debt crisis. The Swiss franc slid on plans to temporarily peg the currency to the euro. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index rose 2.8 per cent to 1,151.55 at 11.04am in New York after tumbling 4.4 per cent on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rallied 2.1 per cent after reversing an earlier slide. Treasuries halted a three-day surge, sending the yield on the 10-year note up 11 basis points to 2.21 per cent. The franc weakened at least 4.5 per cent against all 16 major peers. Gold retreated from a record, while corn, copper and zinc led commodities higher. Rebound The S&P 500 rebounded after plunging 17.8 per cent from July 22 until Wednesday amid concern about Europe's debt crisis and a political battle over the US debt ceiling that prompted S&P to cut the country's credit rating. Both European shares and the Russell 2000 Index of small companies entered a bear market this week, falling at least 20 per cent from their previous highs, as two and 10-year Treasury yields reached record lows.