The closer Washington gets to a deal over the debt ceiling, the higher stocks go. The closer Washington gets to a deal over the debt ceiling, the higher stocks go. ADVERTISING Stock prices rose for a second day in a
The closer Washington gets to a deal over the debt ceiling, the higher stocks go.
Stock prices rose for a second day in a row Friday as investors bet against a U.S. debt default. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 111 points Friday, bringing its two-day gain to 434. Its jump on Thursday was the biggest this year.
Call it the “Sigh of Relief Rally.”
A partial government shutdown pushed the Dow below 15,000 this week before President Barack Obama and House Republicans met Thursday to talk about the outlines for a possible deal. Obama and Republican senators met Friday, too.
Stocks set new highs in mid-September but declined steadily since then as the federal government got closer to the partial shutdown that began Oct. 1. That shutdown entered its 11th day Friday.
Even more troubling for investors is the expectation the government will reach its borrowing limit on Oct. 17, which raises the possibility of a default on government borrowing. U.S. government bonds are usually considered the world’s safest investment, so even the possibility of a default has rattled investors.
The Dow rose 111.04 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 15,237.11. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10.64 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,703.20. The Nasdaq rose 31.13 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,791.87.
Gold fell, and took gold mining stocks down with it. Gold for December delivery fell $28.70, or 2.2 percent, to $1,268.20 per ounce, its lowest price since mid-July. Mining company Barrick Gold fell 73 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $17.81. Newmont Mining fell 68 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $25.62.
The price of crude oil fell 99 cents to $102.02 a barrel after a report showed growing supplies of oil outside of OPEC.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose slightly to 2.69 percent from 2.68 percent.
