US stocks rally as Senate reaches agreement

All ten economic sectors ended higher led by financial sector

U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday, 16 October 2013 lifting the S&P 500 near its record, as the Senate reached an agreement to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, with votes later in the day expected to end the fiscal standoff. A major factor in helping equities withstand the latest Washington drama is the Federal Reserve's September decision not to begin reducing its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 205.82 points, or 1.4%, to 15,373.83 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite gained 45.42 points, or 1.2%, to 3,839.43. The S&P 500 index climbed 23.46 points, or 1.4%, to 1,721.52.

Twenty seven out of thirty Dow components ended higher with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. leading gains. All ten economic sectors ended higher with financials and health care pacing gains among its 10 major industry groups.

On Wednesday, US lawmakers appeared to be on the verge of striking a deal that would fund the government through 15 January while extending the debt ceiling until 7 February, and maintaining the sequester.

On the economic front, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index ticked up 0.3% to follow last week's increase of 1.3%.

Separately, the October NAHB Housing Market Index fell to 55 from 58. Today's report was below the reading of 57 expected by the consensus.

Also of note, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, which did not contain many surprises. The report said economic growth during the period between September and early October continued at a "modest to moderate pace" while employment continued to grow modestly. The report also touched on the budget deadlock, saying the situation contributed to an increase in uncertainty.

Among major stocks under focus, shares of Bank of America climbed 2.3% after the company reported a third-quarter profit of $2.22 billion versus a loss in the year-earlier period.

Bullion metal prices ended higher at Comex on Wednesday, 16 October 2013. Gold for December delivery climbed $9.10, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,282.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. December silver rose 17 cents, or 0.8%, to $21.37 an ounce.

Crude oil futures settled back above $102 a barrel on Wednesday, 16 October 2013 as growing optimism that the U.S. government would soon reach an agreement to end the budget standoff and raise the debt ceiling helped prices recoup nearly all of what they lost a day earlier.

November crude oil climbed $1.08, or 1.1%, to settle at $102.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Indian ADRs ended on positive note on Wednesday. In the banking space, ICICI Bank added 1.4% at $33.28 and HDFC Bank rose 1.64% at $33.38. In the IT space, Wipro gained 3.35% at $11.72 and Infosys was down 0.51% at $54.48. In the other sectors, Tata Motors rose 0.65% at $31.11 and Dr Reddys Laboratories jumped 0.84% at $39.40.

For every stock falling, four gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where more than 750 million shares traded. Composite volume cleared 3.5 billion.

Tomorrow, weekly initial claims will be reported at 8:30 ET while September industrial production and capacity utilization will both be released at 9:15 ET. The day's data will be topped off with the 10:00 ET release of the October Philadelphia Fed survey.

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