Wall Street rallies despite ongoing gov't shutdown

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-10-5 8:37:51

Furloughed federal employees hold placards during a protest event outside the US Capitol to demand an end of federal workers' lockout after the government shutdown in Washington DC on October 4, 2013. Photo: Xinhua


 
US stocks rebounded Friday from Thursday's slip, despite the partial government shutdown which has entered into the fourth day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76.10 points, or 0.51 percent, to 15,072.58 points. The S&P 500 increased 11.84 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,690.50 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 33.41 points, or 0.89 percent, to 3, 807.75 points.

The market ended the week mixed, with the blue-chip Dow and broader S&P 500 falling 1.2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively, while the Nasdaq rose 0.7 percent.

Wall Street once again posted its impressive resilience, shrugging off the budget standoff, as some investors grew more optimistic that a deal could be reached in Congress.

The US equity market surrendered part of its earlier gains in the final trading hour, after House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said the House will not vote on a clean spending bill without conditions to reopen the government.

At a Republican news conference at the Capitol Hill, Boehner said the US government needs to deal with its spending problem, stressing that the Republicans want neither a government shutdown nor a default.

"All we're asking for is to sit down and have a discussion and to bring fairness to the American people under Obamacare. It's as simple as that. But, it all has to begin with a simple discussion, " the House Speaker said.

Meanwhile, the closely-watched non-farm payrolls report for September, originally scheduled for Friday morning by the Labor Department, was canceled due to the government shutdown.

On corporate side, Twitter plans to raise 1 billion US dollars and debut on a stock exchange in November, according the micro-blogging service's Initial Public Offering filing revealed late Wednesday.

Looking ahead, Wall Street will usher in the third-quarter corporate earnings season, starting with financial giants J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo, as well as fast-food chain Yum Brands.

In other markets, the US dollar traded slightly higher against most major currencies amid worries over continued government shutdown. In late New York trading, the euro declined to $1.3558 from $1.3621 of the previous session. The dollar bought 97.41 Japanese yen, higher than 97.23 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped Friday on a stronger dollar, ending the week with a 2.2-percent loss.

The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped $7.7, or 0.58 percent, to settle at $1,309.9 per ounce.

Oil prices recovered Friday despite partial US government shutdown as tropical storm Karen is approaching Gulf of Mexico and threatening crude production in the region.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery increased $0.53 to settle at $103.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery gained $0.46 to close at $109.46 a barrel.



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