U.S. stock reverse losses on debt ceiling impasse

U.S. futures and stocks are both on a rise, bolstered by progress on debt-ceiling impasse. At the end of the trading day on Wednesday, stock closed high. Dow Jones index stands at 0.30% increase, the S&P 500 with a rise by 0.41% and the Nasdaq also by 0.47%. Treasury yields remained unchanged.

Asian shares rise as receding debt fears spur wall street rally. Biden and Xi’s decision to hold a virtual meeting also provided much-needed boost to trading floors. Japan’s Nikkei is up by 0.54%, Hong King’s Hang Seng also rises by 2.85%. Mainland China remains closed for the holidays.

London’s blue-chip stocks fell on Wednesday, pressured by fears of higher inflation. The FTSE 100 index eased 1.2%, recording its worst session since August, weighed by energy and mining stocks, both down 2.6% and 1.7% respectively. Inflation fears rising on the back of soaring energy costs, supply side and labor shortages have weighed on equities, as central banks look to pull back their pandemic era monetary support and hike rates to relieve cost pressures. Banking stocks gained 1.0% after bond yields surged past 1.1%, the highest level since the spring of 2019, in signs of rising inflationary pressures.

The Russian stock market, which started trading on the positive side, closed Wednesday with more than a percentage decline in indicators. The Moscow Exchange index fell by 1.23% and amounted to 4171.71 points. The RTS index fell by 1.38% to 1,814.64 points.

Oil prices dropped for a second session Thursday, under pressure from an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stocks that raised concerns over demand after prices rallied to multi-year highs. U.S. crude slid 0.43%, or 33 cents, to $77.10 a barrel after the market climbed on Wednesday to $79.78, the highest since November 2014. Brent crude 2 cents, to $81.06 a barrel. U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, against expectations for a modest dip of 418,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories also rose, while distillate inventories were down slightly.