(New York) The New York Stock Exchange opened modestly higher on Wednesday, on renewed hopes that an agreement could be reached on the US debt ceiling between the White House and the Republican opposition.
By 10 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Index was up 0.35%, the tech-heavy NASDAQ was up 0.07%, and the broader S
The day before, the Dow Jones had lost 1.01% to 33,012.14 points, the NASDAQ index had crumbled by 0.18% to 12,343.05 points and the S
President Joe Biden expressed optimism on Tuesday, following a meeting at the White House with U.S. congressional leaders, about averting a U.S. default, which could occur in two weeks.
Admittedly “there was no agreement to raise the debt ceiling at yesterday’s (Tuesday) meeting between President Biden and congressional leaders,” acknowledged Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com. .
“Nevertheless, it is clear from this meeting that it was positive, that a bipartisan agreement can still be reached to avoid a default, and that the negotiation process has improved with President Biden appointing officials to work directly” with the opposition.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy acknowledged that the meeting had been “a little more productive” and that “an improved process” had been put in place for the negotiation.
President Biden, who is traveling to Japan on Wednesday for a G7 Summit, however, had to cut short his trip to Asia to be able to continue leading discussions on the debt ceiling.
Calling for deficit reduction, the Republicans refuse to let the United States borrow more to meet its financial deadlines, which may lead to a historic default.
On the stock market, regional banks experienced a sharp rebound.
Western Alliance, which reported on Tuesday that its deposits grew in the quarter, was up more than 12% by 10 a.m. EST. PacWest Bancorp was also up almost 11% and Comerica more than 7%.
Supermarket chain Target was up 1.50%, around 9:45 a.m. EST, after announcing better-than-expected first-quarter results while adopting a cautious tone on consumer sentiment and forecasts of sales. The brand also warned of the impact of numerous thefts in its stores.
The day before, home improvement chain Home Depot reported a year-over-year decline in first-quarter sales, calling it the “worst quarter in a long time.” The title, at half mast the day before, resumed 1.45% around 10 a.m. (Eastern time).
On Thursday, markets will watch giant Walmart’s results ahead of Wall Street’s opening.
Tesla shares climbed 2.37% to $170.46 around 10 a.m. ET after an interview with CEO Elon Musk on CNBC on Tuesday. The billionaire promised he would spend more time running the electric car maker now that he has hired a female Twitter executive.
In the bond market, ten-year yields were stable at 3.54% versus 3.53% the day before.
Amid the debt saga and after weak economic data in Europe and the UK, the dollar was on a roll gaining 0.42% against the euro to 1.0816 to the euro and 0, 31% against the British pound.
