Dow closes up 340 points amid debt ceiling deal
NEW YORK, NY -- There's no end in sight to the volatility on Wall Street as stocks rallied on Thursday.
The Dow finished with a gain of nearly 340 points, or 1%, while the broader S&P 500 rose 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased by 1.1%.
It was a solid gain but stocks closed off their highs from earlier in the day. Still, the rally was broad-based. Only 4 Dow stocks fell.
Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond also rose to 1.57%.
The U.S. equity market has been on a roller coaster of late. Investors are struggling with worries about inflation, the U.S. debt ceiling, the China Evergrande debt crisis and the general state of the recovery.
Things were looking up after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered options late Wednesday to prevent America from defaulting on its debts. Republicans had previously shut down Democrats' proposals to raise the debt ceiling, but a deal was announced Thursday.
On top of that, weekly claims for unemployment benefits came in lower than expected and below the prior week's level.
"Progress in debt ceiling talks is boosting the mood in the market. The proposed deal in Washington will effectively see the can kicked down the road to December buying time and easing concerns," Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index, said in a note to clients. "Whilst this is clearly a short-term answer, it is enough to keep the markets happy."
