New York Report: US stocks up as investors bet on debt deal
US stocks ended a volatile session with modest gains yesterday, as investors bet that there would soon be a deal in Washington to increase the debt limit, though there were no obvious signs of progress.
President Barack Obama was scheduled to meet with several congressional leaders, and while the White House said the meeting had been delayed, signs of negotiations were taken as a positive by the market.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who began talks on Saturday, appeared together on the Senate floor and expressed optimism a deal could be made final within days.
Stocks had dipped after weekend talks failed to reach a solution that would reopen the federal government and raise the $16.7 trillion federal borrowing limit by 17 October.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 64.15 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 15,301.26. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 6.94 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 1,710.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.40 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 3,815.28.
Shares of Netflix rose 7.8 per cent to $324.36, as the S&P’s top gainer, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks with several US cable television companies, to make its streaming video service available through their set-top boxes.
On the downside, Expedia plunged 6.2 per cent to $48.51 and appliance maker Whirlpool fell 6.5 per cent to $131.29 after a note pointing to softening demand.