--Europe markets broadly higher after surprise jump in Germany
economic sentiment
--Budget talks between White House, House Speaker Boehner
progressed recently, WSJ reports
By Matt Jarzemsky
NEW YORK--U.S. stocks rose, erasing the Dow industrials' losses
since the election, as investors cheered reports of progress in
budget talks and Apple Inc. (AAPL) helped push the technology
sector higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78.56 points, or 0.6%, to
13248.44, increasing for a fifth-straight session. Blue chips'
close above their Election Day level of 13245.68 was the first
since then and reversed a 5.3% drop in the nine days that followed
the vote.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 9.29 points, or
0.7%, to 1427.84. Apple rose 2.2%, rebounding after falling a
fourth-straight day Monday. Intel climbed 2.8% after disclosing
details of a new process for making chips for mobile devices.
The tech-oriented Nasdaq Composite Index rose 35.34 points, or
1.2%, to 3022.30.
"There was some marginal good news from behind the scenes as to
how the meetings went with the Speaker and the President," said
Phil Orlando, who helps manage $370 billion as chief market
strategist at Federated Investors. "People are grasping at straws
here. So if someone credible comes out and says Obama and Boehner
had a good meeting, maybe that's good enough for some people to put
some money on the table."
Budget negotiations between President Barack Obama and
Republican House Speaker John Boehner have progressed steadily and
become more serious in recent days, The Wall Street Journal
reported late Monday, citing people close to the process. Lawmakers
have sparred for several weeks over how to deal with tax increases
and spending cuts set to begin in January, the so-called fiscal
cliff.
Stocks trimmed gains Tuesday after Mr. Boehner said Republicans
still are waiting for the White House to propose spending cuts.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats aren't going to
make an offer on spending cuts for Republicans and it will be
"extremely difficult" to get a deal done before Christmas.
The trade deficit for October widened to $42.24 billion from
September's $41.55 billion, and versus expectations of $42.1
billion.
Wholesale inventories rose more than expected in October, as
sales fell amid an economy that remained tepid. Job openings edged
up last month, but the number of people leaving their jobs also
rose, the Labor Department reported.
Earlier, the National Federation of Independent business said
its small-business optimism index for November fell more than
expected.
European markets moved broadly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600
rising 0.3% for a seventh-straight daily gain, after a surprise
boost in German investor sentiment. The ZEW economic expectations
index showed its first positive reading since May. Germany's DAX 30
stock index rallied 0.8%.
Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX 35 rose 1.5% after the country sold more
Treasury bills than planned, at lower borrowing costs, and Greece's
participation in a debt-buyback program helped push the Athens
Composite up 2.3%.
Asian markets were mixed, although Chinese data showed the
production of industrial metals rose to a record. China's Shanghai
Composite eased 0.4%, Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 0.4%, and
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average inched down 0.1%.
Crude-oil futures gained 0.3% to settle at $85.79 a barrel,
while gold futures lost 0.3% to finish at $1,708.20 an ounce. The
dollar slipped against the euro but rose versus the yen. The
benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell in price to yield 1.651%.
In corporate news, shares of American International Group gained
5.7% after the U.S. government priced an offering of the last of
its remaining shares of common stock it owned at $32.50 a share, a
2.6% discount to Monday's close.
TripAdvisor jumped 6.6% after Liberty Interactive, the
investment company led by billionaire John Malone, disclosed it is
paying about $300 million for a stake in the travel-site
operator.
HCA Holdings slid 2.6% after the hospital operator said it was
selling 32 million shares of its common stock to the public on
behalf of certain affiliates of, or funds sponsored by, Bain
Capital Partners and KKR.
Dollar General fell 7.8% after the discount retailer forecast
slowing same-store growth and "flattish" gross margins for the
current quarter.
Fellow discounter Family Dollar Store fell 8.4% as J.P. Morgan
analysts cut their rating on the shares, saying the company's
financial performance is priced into the stock.
Urban Outfitters climbed 4.5% after the company disclosed its
retail business has seen "high single-digit" expansion in
same-store sales so far this quarter, which is higher than some
analysts had predicted.
Clearwire jumped 12% after reports that Sprint, which already
owns 51% of the wireless broadband provider, is moving closer to
acquiring the rest of the company. Sprint's shares fell 1.6%.
Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com