US Stocks Retain Most Of Their Gains Following Fiscal Cliff Deal


US stocks have retained their gains following Wednesday’s fiscal cliff deal in Washington.

Investors have been wary in recent days as they look forward with a sense of cautiousness to the upcoming battles in Congress, including anticipated fights over spending cuts and possible raising the federal debt ceiling.

Reuters reports that Jeff Meyerson, head of trading at Sunrise Securities in New York, stated:

“I would be cautious of big moves going forward. There are still some clouds over the horizon, with the fiscal issue of the government. We don’t know how they’re going to pan out, but in all likelihood there’s not going to be a calamity.”

Wednesday’s rally helped to start the new year off with Wall Street’s best performance in more than a year. The S&P Energy index saw a gain of 0.52 percent, helped by CONSOL Energy. The company stated that it expects to sell more of its non-core assets in 2012.

The Dow Jones industrial average also saw a gain of 6.30 points, while the Standard Poor’s 500 Index saw gains of 2.05 points. The Nasdaq was also up by 5.12 points.

The New York Times notes that stocks didn’t see massive gains on Thursday but that they didn’t fall much from where they rose on Wednesday. In afternoon trading, both the Standard Poor’s 500 Index and the Dow Jones industrial average were down by 0.2 percent.

An industry report also showed that employers in the private sector added 315,000 jobs last month. The number is far above the 133,000 jobs expected by economists. John Brady, managing director at R.J. O’Brien Associates in Chicago, stated:

“The underlying economy has momentum, and the employment data confirms that. The political issues in Washington counter the momentum we’re seeing in the economy, but you might see still equities grind higher today on this.”

Another report showed that more Americans are filing new unemployment claims, though the data has been distorted by year-end holidays.

Are you glad to hear that stocks appear to be on the rise after the fiscal cliff deal?

[Image via ShutterStock]

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