Stocks extended their rally for a second day on rising optimism the white House and Congress will work out a compromise on upcoming tax hikes and spending cuts. Gains also were supported by new data showing the nation's current-account balance declined to a two-year low during Q3 while confidence among U.S. homebuilders this month rose to a six-year high. Most sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day higher, led by shares of energy and industrial companies. Consumer staple stocks were the lone decliner, sliding about 0.1%. Commodities were mixed.
Political leaders continued to inch toward an agreement on spending cuts and tax hikes scheduled to take effect after the first of the year. House Speaker John Boehner this morning today offered "Plan B" legislation extending the Bush-era tax rates for everyone making $1 million or less if they are unable to reach a broader compromise package. Democrats largely rejected the proposal, saying it was unlikely to pass the Senate.
In economic news, the U.S. current-account balance fell to $107.5 billion in Q3, falling 9% from an upwardly revised $118.1 billion in Q2, the Commerce Department reported today.
Also, a trade group survey found U.S. homebuilder confidence at its best levels in six and a half years. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday rose to a 47 reading this month, up two points from a revised 45 in November and marking the highest reading since April 2006 in the months just before the housing bubble burst.
Crude oil for January delivery settled 73 cents higher at $87.93 per barrel while January natural gas ended 6 cents higher at $3.418 per 1 million BTU. February gold fell $27.10 to $1670.80 per ounce and March silver slipped 61 cents to $31.67 per ounce. March copper was down 2 cents to $3.65 per pound.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At Day's End:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average up 115.57 (+0.87%) to 13,350.96
- S&P 500 up 16.43 (+1.15%) to 1,446.79
- Nasdaq Composite Index up 43.93 (+1.46%) to 3,054.53
- Hang Seng Index down 0.08%
- Shanghai China Composite Index up 0.10%
- FTSE 100 Index up 0.40%
- (+) ARB, Agrees to $48 a share buyout by Nielsen Holdings NV in a deal valued at around $1.26 billion overall.
- (+) VNDA, Reports positive results from Phase III testing of its Tasimeleon drug candidate to treat sleep disorders often affecting the blind.
- (+) ZGNX, U.S. regulators schedule two days of hearings in February after receiving "comments, petitions, and informal inquiries concerning the extent to which opioid drugs should be used in the treatment of pain."
- (+) LOGM, Announces pricing details for its Cubby cloud sync and storage service, including a Cubby Pro premium version and a Cubby Basic free version. Cubby Pro subscriptions will start at $83.88 per year.
- (-) GALE, Prices underwritten public offering of 15.16 million equity units at $1.60 each, generating about $24.25 million in gross proceeds.
- (-) GTAT, Issues Q4 guidance trailing Wall Street expectations by a wide margin. Now sees a non-GAAP net loss of between $0.05 to $0.10 a share, compared with analyst consensus for a $0.14 a share profit. Revenue and FY13 guidance also lag analyst estimates.
- (-) TBBK, Prices public offering of 4 million shares at $11 apiece.