Stocks Soar on Budget-Deal Hopes

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 300 points as investors breathed a sigh of relief that lawmakers showed signs of breaking the political gridlock in Washington.Hints of an end to the political brinkmanship which led to a partial government shutdown raised hopes that a deal to lift the federal debt ceiling could be reached in time to avoid the U.S. Treasury defaulting on debt payments.The Dow climbed 323.09 points, or 2.2%, to 15126.07, closing near the session’s highs. Thursday’s advance was the biggest one-day point gain since Dec. 20,cc composite 2011 and the biggest on a percentage basis since Jan. 2, when the blue chips gained 2.3% after Congress reached a deal to avoid an earlier budget-disaster scenario,Drawstring Backpack the so-called fiscal cliff.While the big rally served to break the gloom that has been building among investors since the government shutdown began, many investors said they remain wary of jumping into the market until it’s clear that a deal really is at hand.High Quality High temperature resistance Polyimide tape Products From China Should progress toward resolving the impasse falter, stocks could easily fall back, they said.“We’re getting signs of a thaw; it does make me feel better,” said Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer at Global Financial Private Capital,skf bearing which manages $2.3 billion. “But I tend to be skeptical until there’s an actual agreement.”The S&P 500 index jumped 36.16 points, or 2.2%, to 1692.56, and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 82.97 points, or 2.3%, to 3760.75. The rally returned the Dow to within a fraction of a percent from where it ended September, before the U.S. government entered its first shutdown in 17 years. The Dow is up 15% so far in 2013.The advance continued in Asia early Friday. Japan’s Nikkei, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and South Korea’s Kospi were each up more than 1% early Friday, with the Shanghai composite opening up 0.ina bearing5% higher.

The rally came as House Republicans said that on Thursday they will offer the White House a six-week extension of the nation’s borrowing limit in exchange for wide-ranging negotiations on spending.“The intransigence is melting away” in Washington, said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “All that was needed were signs that both sides are continuing to talk.”Despite the broad advance in stock prices, there was muted enthusiasm on Wall Street trading desks. Traders said the snap back in stocks was led by investors buying as they exited from bearish positions built to protect portfolios from declines in the stock market. Others said that hedge funds that had trailed the broader market were being forced to buy stocks to chase the rising market.Timothy Leach, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said to expect market volatility until lawmakers “cross the goal line” and pass the debt-limit extension. “We’ve been through this tug-of-war before, and I think there’s still going to be some disappointment,”Reflecting the lack of broad interest in jumping into stocks, total composite trading volume was only a hair above the 2013 average.Rick Fier, director of equity trading at Conifer Securities, said longer-term-oriented clients weren’t yet committing much new money to buying stocks.“It’s not euphoric,” Mr. Fier said. “Washington is less of a question mark, but we’re not at a point where we can say this is off the table and can focus on earnings.”Financial, industrial and consumer discretionary stocks—those hit hardest in recent days—jumped most on Thursday. All 10 of the S&P 500′s sectors rose by at least 1.4%.Some this year’s best-performing stocks, bruised in recent days, reclaimed lost ground Thursday. Tesla Motors Inc. climbed $4.15, or 2.5%, to $172.93 after shedding 7.8% over the past two days. Netflix Inc. shot up 15.56, or 5.4%, to 303.99 and Facebook jumped 2.28, 4.9%, to 49.05.European markets rose, with the Stoxx Europe 600 climbing 1.7% to bounce off a one-month low. The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate and bond-buying program intact, as was widely expected.The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.686% from 2.652% late Wednesday. October gold futures fell 0.8% to settle at $1,296.60 a troy ounce. November crude-oil futures advanced 1.5% to settle at $103.01 a barrel. The dollar gained ground against the yen but slipped against the euro.