Markets Rebound as Syria Worries Recede Stocks on Wall Street rose and gold prices eased on Wednesday as investors appeared to take in stride a potential limited Western military strike against Syria and data from around the globe suggested a growing world economy. In midday trading, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was 1 percent higher, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq composite gained 1 percent. The rise on Wall Street led share prices in Europe to rebound, with the FTSEurofirst 300 closing up 0.2 percent. Asian markets ended the day mixed. "People hope there will just be a tactical strike and that's it," said Mark Grant, managing director at Southwest Securities in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. But there are worries about retaliation and a wider conflict isn't priced into the market. The odds for military action had appeared to ebb over the weekend after President Obama said he would seek Congressional authorization for a strike. While Congress will not vote until it returns from its summer recess on Sept. 9, leading Congressional figures back the plan, suggesting approval may be more likely. I think a relatively minor strike is now built into the market. If the scope changes and we start talking about regime change, the market will have to adjust again to that," said John Brady, managing director at R.J. O'Brien & Associates in Chicago. Aside from uncertainty over Syria, investors faced a busy period with other potentially market-moving events in the next few days, including a Group of 20 summit meeting in Moscow; policy decisions on Thursday from the Bank of England, Bank of Japan and European Central Bank; and the United States jobs report on Friday. "There's a whole host of stuff that has the potential to undermine risk appetite and it's just making people a little bit cautious," said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets. Adding to concern overseas, Italian shares slumped on worries about the survival of the country's government. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index gained 0.5 percent, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended the day 0.3 percent lower. In company news, shares in the Rochester Medical Corporation jumped 44.5 percent after C.R. Bard agreed to buy the company for $262 million. H&R Block reported an adjusted quarterly loss on Tuesday that was wider than expected, citing higher costs. Its shares fell 2.1 percent. Dollar General shares rose 3.6 percent after the company reported results that topped expectations. The United States trade deficit widened slightly more than expected in July as exports dipped, but a rebound in imports pointed to some firming in underlying demand early in the third quarter. Oil prices eased slightly despite all the talk about a strike on Syria, with New York benchmark crude oil down $1.13, to $107.741 a barrel. Gold slipped 1.6 percent, to $1,390.10 an ounce, down from peaks reached on Tuesday when a missile test by Israeli forces training with the United States Navy set nerves on edge.