US stocks rose today, with both the S&P 500 and Dow advancing to records, after Republicans took control of the Senate, allaying fears of drawn-out runoffs and raising investor hopes for more business- and energy-friendly policies.
A stronger-than-expected report on the labor market also helped lift stocks, but some weak tech sector earnings weighed on the Nasdaq.
The beaten-down energy sector rallied on hopes that a Republican majority could pass legislation that includes approval of oil and gas pipelines and reforms of crude and natural gas export laws. The S&P energy index was up 1.8 percent.
US private employers added 230,000 jobs in October, the most since June, according to the ADP National Employment report. The data could raise hopes for Friday’s closely-watched payroll report. On the downside, the pace of growth in the US services sector slowed more than expected in October.
Time Warner Inc rose 4 percent to $77.99 after it reported revenue growth of 3 percent. Activision Blizzard Inc late Tuesday raised its full-year forecast, sending shares up 4.4 percent to $20.83.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.69 points, or 0.58 percent, to 17,484.53, the S&P 500 gained 11.47 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,023.57 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.92 points, or 0.06 percent, to 4,620.72.
Weighing on the Nasdaq, TripAdvisor Inc dropped 14.1 percent to $71.95, a day after weaker-than-expected earnings. FireEye Inc fell 15 percent to $29.12 a day after the cybersecurity company’s revenue outlook was largely below expectations.
After the market closed, Tesla Motors shares gained 5.2 percent following results.
About 6.4 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, below the 7.3 billion average for the last five sessions.
NYSE advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1,799 to 1,258, for a 1.43-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,408 issues rose and 1,278 fell for a 1.10-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 92 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite showed 113 new highs and 55 new lows.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 blue-chip index rose 1.69 percent to close at 1,348.99. The blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index rose 1.89 percent to close at 3,091.54.
Most euro zone bond yields edged up as investors questioned if the ECB can boost the region’s flagging economy.
Yields on 10-year German bunds rose to 0.826 percent. The dollar rose to 114.84 yen, its highest level since November 2007, and last traded at 114.69, up 0.98 percent.
The dollar index soared to 87.606, its highest reading in more than four years, before paring gains to trade up 0.55 percent at 87.462.
The euro fell 0.57 percent to $1.2473. US Treasury debt yields rose after payroll processor ADP reported solid US private-sector job growth in October, but later pared losses to trade flat.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.3532 percent. The jobs data comes two days ahead of the US government’s release of its much wider monthl
y labor market report.
Oil prices rose, with Brent rebounding from a four-year-low, as traders reacted to rumors of a pipeline blast in Saudi Arabia and bullish US crude stocks data.
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