Dow opens higher as debt ceiling deal in focus
Stocks advance. The Dow Industrials, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 all rose 0.4%.
Regional bank shares rose. PacWest Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp both rose more than 9%, while others such as Comerica and Zions Bancorporation also rose.
Home update: Housing starts for April rose 2.2% on a monthly basis, beating expectations for a 1.4% decline. But building permits fell 1.5%, against an expected increase.
Interest rates on US government bonds were little changed. The 10-year US Treasury yield ticked down to 3.528%, from 3.548% on Tuesday. The two-year government rate increased to 4.091[ads1]%, from 4.072%.
The WSJ Dollar Index rose 0.3%, on pace to finish higher for the sixth session in the past eight trading days. The index has risen to about a two-month high.
Abroad, the Stoxx Europe 600 was roughly flat. Indices in China fell, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to top 30,000 for the first time since 2021.
