US close: Markets on a high as government shutdown deal tentatively reached

Wall Street's main market gauges began the week trading on a positive note, after Congress struck a deal to end the federal government shutdown which had been in place since Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 0.55% at 26,214.60, the S&P 500 was ahead 0.81% at 2,832.97 and the Nasdaq 100 added 1.05% to 6,906.28.

It was the US government shutdown at the top of the agenda for much of the day, as a Sunday session of the Senate failed to yield any kind of agreement between the Democrats and Republicans, after lawmakers failed to agree on a spending bill by the deadline last Friday.

In a vote during the day, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said his party was supporting a bill to end the shutdown on the proviso Republicans would address a programme which protects young migrants from deportation.

Analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch earlier warned a week-long shutdown held the potential to slice between one and three tenths of a percentage point from the first quarter's annualised rate of growth in gross domestic product.

"Temporary shutdowns have occurred numerous times in the past, most recently in 2013,” Mickey Levy at Berenberg Capital Markets explained in a research note sent to clients..

“Close observation suggests that they have little impact on trends in economic conditions, interest rates, the stock market, or even the US dollar.

“They also have little impact on the wide array of government operations.”

Levy added that in 2013 and 1995-1996, shutdowns lasted two weeks.

“Resolving this shutdown is complicated by the upcoming elections in November.

“With a third of the Senate seats up for grabs and the whole of the House of Representatives, both parties seek to blame the other for the shutdown.”

The economic calendar was light at the start of the week, with just the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago's national activity index due for release.

It rose from a reading of 0.11 for November to 0.27 in December, having printed at 0.87 in October, its best reading since December 2006.

In corporate news, shares of Juno Therapeutics surged 26.82% after the firm agreed to be bought by Celgene for around $9bn in cash.

Validus was also trading on the front foot, rocketing 44.03% after news that insurance giant AIG was set to takeover the Bermudian reinsurance company for $5.56bn.

Going the other way, shares of contract chip manufacturer Sanmina plunged 23.55% after management delivered a weaker-than-expected outlook alongside its fourth quarter results.

Dow Jones - Risers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.45 2.99%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $261.52 2.11%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $45.75 2.07%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $91.61 1.79%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $204.45 1.55%
Visa Inc. (V) $124.33 1.33%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $114.33 1.17%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $105.45 1.10%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $139.33 1.09%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $132.52 0.96%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $66.39 -1.22%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $177.00 -0.82%
General Electric Co. (GE) $16.17 -0.55%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $135.21 -0.51%
3M Co. (MMM) $247.30 -0.35%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.25 -0.05%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.93 -0.03%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $176.21 0.05%
Boeing Co. (BA) $338.15 0.08%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $243.56 0.09%

S&P 500 - Risers

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) $32.47 10.44%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $8.53 9.78%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $195.23 8.68%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $56.42 6.40%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $18.10 4.99%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $37.20 4.94%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $44.81 4.57%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $79.76 4.41%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $42.75 4.37%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $60.72 4.33%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $330.00 -4.03%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $26.54 -3.35%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $17.55 -3.20%
AES Corp. (AES) $11.39 -3.15%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $66.34 -3.01%
Ball Corp (BLL) $37.76 -2.48%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $60.80 -1.86%
Harris Corp. (HRS) $143.15 -1.85%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $90.86 -1.84%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $262.11 -1.61%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $195.23 8.68%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $227.58 3.23%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $39.58 2.99%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $91.71 2.91%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $27.47 2.61%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,327.31 2.53%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $161.91 2.49%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $185.37 2.25%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $119.44 2.23%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $46.26 2.21%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $235.01 -3.74%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $26.54 -3.35%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $60.80 -1.86%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $90.86 -1.84%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $45.26 -1.65%
Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $262.11 -1.61%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $46.14 -1.52%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $267.10 -0.88%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $177.00 -0.82%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $254.34 -0.64%