US markets rose on positive talks regarding budget deal

29 Nov 2012 Evaluate
The US markets edged higher on Wednesday, lifting the S&P 500 back into the green for the week, after comments by President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner bolstered thoughts that a budget deal would be reached. President Obama stated that he is hopeful of getting budget agreement done before Christmas, while calling on Americans to pressure House Republicans to block scheduled tax hikes on the middle class. Also, House Speaker Boehner told that he remained hopeful Republicans could forge an agreement with the White House to avert austerity measures otherwise set to begin in the New Year. On the economy front, new-homes sales were somewhat disappointing. The sales of new single-family homes in the US ticked down in October, with a large drop in the hurricane-hit Northeast while there was a record surge in the Midwest, government data showed. Overall, sales of new single-family houses ticked down 0.3% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000 from a downwardly revised pace of 369,000 in September, the US Department of Commerce stated.

The market offered little reaction to the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book based on reports from the Fed’s 12 district banks, which described economic activity as having expanded at a measured pace in recent weeks. The consumer spending grew at a moderate pace in most districts, while manufacturing weakened. The report also indicated that Fed policy makers are unlikely to curtail monthly purchases of $40 billion in housing debt to boost the three-year economic expansion. It also bolsters Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s view that an agreement on reducing long-term federal budget deficits without abrupt tax increases and spending cuts would remove a barrier to growth. The Beige Book provides anecdotal evidence on the health of the economy two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee meets in Washington on December 11-12.

In Europe, lenders and ministers in the euro zone settled their differences to lower debt and offer interest free loans to Greece. European Central Bank Governing Council Member Ewald Nowotny stated that the deal struck by euro zone finance ministers and the IMF is probably a solution that is better than all alternatives. Besides, the European Commission approved the restructuring plans of the four Spanish banks BFA/Bankia, NCG Banco, Catalunya Banc and Banco de Valencia which is in line with EU state aid rules. Separately, the annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 in the euro area increased to 3.9% in October from 2.6% in September, the European Central Bank reported. The three-month average of the annual growth rates of M3 in the period from August to October rose to 3.1% compared with 3% in the period from July to September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 106.98 points, or 0.83 percent, to close at 12,985.10, the S&P 500 finished up by 10.99 points, or 0.79 percent at 1,409.93, while the Nasdaq ended higher by 23.99 points, or 0.81 percent to settle at 2,991.78.

Indian ADRs closed mixed on Wednesday, ICICI Bank was up 0.26%, Tata Motors was up 0.26% and Tata Communications was up 0.02%. On the other hand, HDFC Bank was down by 0.52% and. Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.18%.

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