Stocks head higher, bouncing back from a drop the day before

U.S. stocks headed higher in early trading as the market bounces back from a steep decline the day before. Most Asian and European markets are closed for May 1, known as Labour Day in most of the world.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 107 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,955 as of 10 a.m. on Wall Street. The 30-company average lost 195 points the day before.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,097, while the Nasdaq composite rose 31 points, also 0.6 percent, to 4,972.

MISSED CONNECTION: LinkedIn plunged 21 percent after the online networking service gave a disappointing forecast for earnings in the months ahead, hurt largely part by its pending purchase of Lynda.com, an online learning company. The $1.5 billion deal announced earlier this month is LinkedIn's largest. The company's stock sank $46.76 to $205.12.

TRAVEL TIME: Expedia turned in sales results that topped Wall Street's estimates. The online travel company's stock jumped $7.72, or 8 percent, to $101.76.

SO FAR: Roughly a third of all the companies in the S&P 500 reported first-quarter results this week, and the news was mixed. Falling oil prices and a rising dollar hammered many of them. Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 will say overall earnings inched up 0.6 percent compared with the same period of last year, according to S&P Capital IQ, a provider of financial information. But revenue is expected to drop 1.4 percent.

EUROPE: The only major market open for trading was in the U.K., where Britain's FTSE 100 inched up 0.2 percent.

ASIA: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.1 percent, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4 percent. New Zealand's benchmark rose 0.1 percent. Most markets in Asia and Europe were closed for the holiday.

JAPAN: Japan's inflation rate edged up in March and unemployment eased slightly, according to data released Friday, offering glimmers of promise for the world's No. 3 economy as it struggles to get its economy back on track after years of stagnation.

The central bank kept its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged in a policy meeting Thursday.

CRUDE: Benchmark U.S. crude oil sank 40 cents to $59.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bonds sank, pushing the yield on the 10-year up to 2.10 percent from 2.03 percent the day before. In currency trading, the euro gained against the dollar, edging up to $1.1235 from $1.1214 the day before. The dollar rose to 120 yen from 119.45 yen.