Wall Street staged a late-day rally on Wednesday as investors brushed off concerns about Congress's debt ceiling deal and bought technology stocks at their dip. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 100 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both climbed over 0.4% higher.
Stocks started to rise on news that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told a closed meeting of Republicans that he would offer a short-term debt ceiling extension, which would relieve some pressure for lawmakers to avoid a U.S. default.
"To protect the American people from a near-term Democrat-created crisis, we will also allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount to cover current spending levels into December," McConnell said in a statement posted to Twitter
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Target to offer 'Buy Now, Pay Later' to holiday shoppers through Affirm, Sezzle:
Target
"We know our guests want easy and affordable payment options that work within their family's budget," says Gemma Kubat, Target's president of financial and retail services, in a blogpost. "Through our partnerships with Affirm and Sezzle, Target is investing in new financial tools that make our shopping experiences more flexible and personalized to guests' needs, right in time for the holiday season."
Affirm shares rose nearly 20% by the end of the trading session.
Bitcoin rises above $55,000 for first time since May:
Bitcoin jumped to a nearly five-month high above $55,000 on Wednesday, crossing the threshold for the first time since May as the token extended its rally from the previous session.
The rally comes as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said in a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday that he has no plans to ban cryptocurrency, and will leave that decision up to Congress.
Bitcoin rose as high as $55,499 during the session, making it up 13% for the week and 87% for the year.
U.S. private payrolls added more jobs than expected in September:
U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected in September as moderating COVID-19 cases alleviated some stress on the nationwide labor market.
Private payrolls increased by 568,000 last month, according to the ADP's monthly report published Wednesday, beating out consensus economists expectations for 430,000 additions. For August, private employers grew by a 340,000 print, which was downwardly revised from the 374,000 previously reported.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading soon after opening bell:
S&P 500 Index: -0.87% or -37.96 points to 4,307.76
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.75% or -255.89 points to 34,058.78
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.95% or -137.49 points to 14,298.00
