US investors have powered the S&P 500 to an all-time high, one day after Washington politicians reached a deal to reopen the government and avert a feared debt default.
The S&P 500, the broadest of the major measures of US markets, closed at 1,733.15 on Thursday, up 0.67 per cent for the day and more than seven points above the previous record closing high of 1,725.52, reached on September 18.
The surge came despite a handful of disappointing quarterly earnings results by blue chips that delivered a loss to the narrower 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The S&P 500 gained 11.60 points for the day, also scoring an intra-day high of 1,733.45.
The Dow was down 2.18 points (0.01 per cent) at 15,371.65, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped to 23.72 points (0.62 per cent) to 3,863.15, its highest level since September 2000.
“The mood is serene and positive, the unthinkable was avoided,” said Peter Cardillo of Rockwell Global Capital, referring to the 11th hour deal lifting the Treasury’s debt ceiling in Congress.
Stocks opened lower in a short-lived bout of profit taking that came on the heels of the markets’ nearly 1.4 per cent gain Wednesday.
That came in reaction to the news that Washington politicians had broken the deadlock that had shut down the government for over two weeks and threatened to leave the Treasury unable to pay its bills.
They soon reversed course and slowly marched up past the previous S&P 500 high — while leaving the 30-stock Dow behind.
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After the market closed, meanwhile, Google reported its quarter, showing a 36 per cent jump in net profit to $US2.97 billion, or $US8.75 a share.
Google shares jumped nearly 7 per cent in after-hours trade to more than $US95, well past the record high of $US928.
The US political battle has taken its toll on the greenback, pushing the Australian dollar above 96 US cents. Early Friday, the local unit was trading at 96.28 US cents – its highest point since June 13 – up from 95.52 cents on Thursday.
