Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, as market sentiment was boosted by hopes of an upcoming U.S. budget deal that would avoid the country a sovereign default.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.02%, the S&P 500 index rallied 1.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite index surged 1.33%.
Hopes that the partial U.S. government shutdown may soon end received a boost from news that House Republican leaders were to hold their first meeting with President Barack Obama since the shutdown began later on Thursday.
President Obama has demanded Republicans raise the U.S. debt ceiling and reopen the government before negotiations on future fiscal policy can take place.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reiterated Thursday that the U.S. will reach its debt ceiling on October 17 and warned that the political crisis is starting to hurt the economy. The comments came during testimony to the Senate finance committee.
Among tech stocks, IBM rallied 0.93% and Microsoft jumped 1.03% despite reports worldwide personal-computer shipments fell in the third quarter, reaching their lowest level for the period since 2008.
In the same sector, Hewlett-Packard surged 3.58% after CEO Meg Whitman said she expects "total revenue to stabilize."
In company news, Men’s Wearhouse rejected a USD2.3 billion cash takeover offer from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, saying the bid undervalued the company and wasn’t in the best interest of investors.
The company's shares were down 1.47% at the open of the U.S. trading session, after skyrocketing nearly 28% on Wednesday.
Other stocks likely to remain in focus included Micron, scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 2.09%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 2.05%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.87%, while Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 1.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.39%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 1.12%.
Investors shrugged off a report by the Department of Labor showing that U.S. initial jobless claims rose to 374,000 last week, an increase of 66,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 308,000. The government shutdown accounted for 15,000 claims, the report said.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.02%, the S&P 500 index rallied 1.15%, while the Nasdaq Composite index surged 1.33%.
Hopes that the partial U.S. government shutdown may soon end received a boost from news that House Republican leaders were to hold their first meeting with President Barack Obama since the shutdown began later on Thursday.
President Obama has demanded Republicans raise the U.S. debt ceiling and reopen the government before negotiations on future fiscal policy can take place.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reiterated Thursday that the U.S. will reach its debt ceiling on October 17 and warned that the political crisis is starting to hurt the economy. The comments came during testimony to the Senate finance committee.
Among tech stocks, IBM rallied 0.93% and Microsoft jumped 1.03% despite reports worldwide personal-computer shipments fell in the third quarter, reaching their lowest level for the period since 2008.
In the same sector, Hewlett-Packard surged 3.58% after CEO Meg Whitman said she expects "total revenue to stabilize."
In company news, Men’s Wearhouse rejected a USD2.3 billion cash takeover offer from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, saying the bid undervalued the company and wasn’t in the best interest of investors.
The company's shares were down 1.47% at the open of the U.S. trading session, after skyrocketing nearly 28% on Wednesday.
Other stocks likely to remain in focus included Micron, scheduled to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 2.09%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 2.05%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.87%, while Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 1.20%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.39%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index gained 1.12%.
Investors shrugged off a report by the Department of Labor showing that U.S. initial jobless claims rose to 374,000 last week, an increase of 66,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 308,000. The government shutdown accounted for 15,000 claims, the report said.