US STOCKS-Wall Street closes higher as stimulus talks progress

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By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed solidly
higher on Wednesday as government leaders continued talks for a
new pandemic relief package and positive economic data helped
the major indexes end the third quarter in positive territory.
All three major indexes surged after U.S. House of
Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin both expressed hope for a breakthrough in
partisan stimulus negotiations. The indexes pared gains after Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell warned the sides remain "far apart" in their talks.
"We had the economic news which was pretty good, and
continued discussions with Mnuchin and Pelosi drove hopes that
we could have stimulus before the election before McConnell
threw cold water on it," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at
Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.
"Volatility has been the watchword all month and I don't
think we're out of the woods yet," Nolte added.
Market participants also were digesting Tuesday's
contentious presidential debate, where President Donald Trump
and Democratic challenger Joe Biden talked over each other and
traded insults as they sparred over the COVID-19 pandemic,
healthcare and the economy. A spate of economic data mostly surprised to the upside,
with ADP National Employment index blowing past analyst
expectations and pending home sales surging to an all-time high.
The major indexes wrapped up September with their first
monthly declines since March, when mandated shutdowns slammed
the economy. But they posted gains for the third quarter and
their largest two-quarter winning streaks in years.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
393.25 points, or 1.43%, to 27,845.91, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
34.76 points, or 1.04%, to 3,370.23 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 105.49 points, or 0.95%, to 11,190.74.
Nikola Corp NKLA.O stock soared after Chief Executive Mark
Russell said he was close to a deal with an energy partner and
defended the company against a short-seller's fraud allegations.
Micron Technology Inc MU.O said it has not yet obtained
new licenses needed to sell memory chips to China's Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd HWT.UL , sending its shares lower.
Duke Energy Corp DUK.N stock jumped after the Wall Street
Journal said the company had been approached by peer NextEra
Energy Inc NEE.N regarding a possible takeover.