Market Update: Washington inches nearer to a debt deal – 15.10.2013

Source: Henderson Global Investors

Wall Street rallied overnight (Dow Jones +0.4%, S&P 500 +0.4%, Nasdaq +0.6%) on further optimism that Washington’s politicians were closing in on a debt deal. After lengthy discussions Senate leaders said a deal is within reach ahead of the 17 October deadline. The proposed deal would see the government reopen until January and the debt ceiling raised until early February.

In Asia, following yesterday’s solid gains, the Nikkei closed up 0.3% today as shares of exporting companies were impacted by yen strength against the US dollar. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.2% and the Hang Seng gained 0.5%. Stock markets in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India are closed today for national holidays.

Taking a cue from the US, optimism about a fiscal deal appears to have filtered through to European markets. At the time of writing this morning both the FTSE Eurofirst 300 and FTSE 100 are up 0.7%. In London, miners are leading the risers with Rio Tinto posting a positive third quarter trading update. Among financials, Hargreaves Lansdown’s shares are up on the announcement that its assets under management have reached a record high of £39.3bn in the three months to 30 September.