| The Nasdaq surged 522.64 points (2.3%) to 23,527.17, the S&P 500 jumped 103.63 points (1.5%) to 6,832.43 and the Dow advanced 381.53 points (0.8%) to 47,368.63. Wall Street rallied after the Senate voted 60-40 to advance legislation ending the record-long government shutdown. The temporary funding bill also aims to reverse recent mass federal layoffs, with several Democratic senators joining Republicans to push it forward due to a provision allowing a vote on extending enhanced Obamacare tax credits. Though final passage could face delays in the House or from individual senators, optimism lifted investor sentiment. Traders saw the move as a signal of stability, prompting renewed stock buying after recent valuation concerns. The end of the shutdown would also restore suspended economic data releases, clearing uncertainty for markets and the Federal Reserve. Gold stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 4.8%. Computer hardware, semiconductor and software stocks saw substantial strength, contributing to the surge by the Nasdaq. Pharmaceutical, oil service and networking stocks also turned in strong performances while airline stocks notably moved downwards. Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.3% while South Korea's Kospi spiked by 3% and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.5%. The major European markets upwards. The German DAX Index shot up 1.7%, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.3% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 1,1%. In the bond market, treasuries saw modest weakness after ending the last Friday's trading roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, rose by 1.7 bps to 4.11%. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |