· Wall Street advanced on Tuesday as third-quarter reporting season hit with a spate of upbeat earnings reports that brought buyers back to the equities market.
All three major U.S. stock averages gained ground in a broad-based rally, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting their highest closing level in more than three weeks.
Adding to positive geopolitical developments, investors welcomed news that Britain and the European Union could reach a deal in time for a leaders’ summit this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 237.44 points, or 0.89%, to 27,024.8, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 29.53 points, or 1.00%, to 2,995.68 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 100.06 points, or 1.24%, to 8,148.71.
· European stocks closed higher Tuesday after European Union negotiator Michel Barnier said a Brexit deal between the bloc and the U.K. is still possible this week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 1% higher at the closing bell. Retail and banking stocks climbed 2.4% to lead gains as all sectors traded in positive territory.
· Asian shares took off on Wednesday and sterling held near six-month highs as Britain and the EU made headway on a Brexit deal ahead of a leaders’ summit though it remained unclear if London could avoid postponing its scheduled departure on Oct. 31.
The news lit a fire under European and U.S. equities, which jumped about 1% on Tuesday. The British pound GBP=D3 rocketed to $1.28, a level not seen since May 21. It gave back some of those gains on Wednesday to be last at $1.2759.
The pound has strengthened nearly 5% over the past week as investors rushed to reprice the prospect of a last-minute Brexit deal before the end-October deadline.
Officials and diplomats involved in negotiations over the acrimonious divorce between the world’s fifth-largest economy and its biggest trading bloc said that differences over the terms of the split had narrowed significantly.
The positive sentiment extended on Wednesday with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lifting 0.3%.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 jumped 1.7% while Australian shares added 0.9% and South Korea's KOSPI index .KS11 climbed 0.7%.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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