Stocks in struggle

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks struggled early Wednesday, turning mixed a day after a huge selloff resulted in the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average posting its biggest one-day drop in more than five years.

At 9:52 a.m. ET. the Dow Jones industrial average (up 56.16 to 12,272.40, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (up 7.82 to 1,406.86, Charts) were slightly higher, after starting with gains and then turning negative before bouncing back. The Nasdaq (up 8.40 to 2,416.26, Charts) composite eased 0.2 percent after an initial advance.

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during Tuesday's sell-off.

The choppy trading come on the heels of one of the most brutal days for stocks ever. The Dow plunged 416 points Tuesday, its largest single-day point loss since the day after the stock market reopened after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Chinese stocks, which sparked Tuesday's global selloff, recovered Wednesday. The Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes rose almost 4 percent, but markets in Japan and Hong Kong extended losses. European markets also were lower in early afternoon trading.

On the economic front, a second reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in slightly below estimates.

The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, rose 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter. That was a big drop from the government's previous estimate of 3.5 percent growth but just a shade below analysts' estimates for a gain of 2.3 percent.

At 10 a.m. ET, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to testify before the House Budget Committee hearing on long-tern fiscal challenges and the economy. He likely will face questions about the stock selloff.

The government also will report on new home sales for January, the latest reading on the state of the closely watched and badly battered real estate market.

A report on existing home sales released Tuesday showed a continued decline in home prices in January but a pickup in the pace of sales.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell 34 cents to $61.12 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury prices, which soared Tuesday as equities plunged, retreated in early trading. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to 4.55 percent, up from 4.51 percent late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar rebounded against the euro and the yen in early trading.

Technical glitches plague Wall Street