© Reuters. Traders trade on Wall Street in New York on November 15, 2023. Photograph: Brendan McDiarmid/Reuters.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indices rose at the end of trading on Thursday, thanks to growing optimism that an agreement to raise the government debt ceiling could be reached within days, and Wal-Mart shares provided additional support after the company raised its annual sales forecast.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index recovered early losses after reports quoted top Republican in the US Congress, Kevin McCarthy, as saying that an agreement could be reached to raise the debt ceiling or suspend it in time to allow it to be voted on in the House of Representatives next week.
According to preliminary data, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 39.07 points, or 0.94 percent, to 4,197.84 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 188.60 points, or 1.51 percent, to 12,689.44 points. The industrial index rose 117.25 points, or 0.35 percent, to 33,538.02 points.
Wal-Mart shares rose after the retail giant reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and raised its sales and profit forecasts for the whole of 2023.
(Prepared by Mahmoud Abdel-Gawad for the Arabic Bulletin)
2023-05-18 20:23:00
#Stocks #Close #Higher #Growing #Optimism #Debt #Ceiling #Reuters
