Wall Street opens higher as receding debt fears spur rally
ABC News
Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street Thursday amid signs a standoff in Congress over the federal debt ceiling is closer to a resolution
TOKYO -- Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street Thursday amid signs a standoff in Congress over the federal debt ceiling is closer to a resolution. Investors hope Congress may temporarily extend the federal government’s debt ceiling and buy lawmakers time to reach a permanent resolution. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% in early trading and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.2%. Pfizer gained 1.3% after asking the U.S. government to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as the job market continued its steady recovery.
(asterisk)(asterisk)THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE(asterisk)(asterisk) AP's earlier story appears below:
Global shares rose Thursday, tracking a rally on Wall Street spurred by signs of progress on resolving the standoff in Congress over the federal debt ceiling.
France's CAC 40 added 1.1% in early trading to 6,567.22, while Germany's DAX was up 1.1% at 15,143.67. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.8% to 7,051.44. The future for the Dow industrials gained 0.4% to 34,438.00. That for the S&P 500 was up 0.6% at 4,379.50.