Wall Street Rises

Wall Street ended sharply higher Monday as investors focused on Tuesday's midterm elections that will determine control of Congress

Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Tuesday as Liz Truss prepared to become British prime minister and Europe wrestled with uncertainty about Russian gas supplies. London and Frankfurt opened higher. Shanghai and Tokyo gained. Benchmark US crude rose more than $2 per barrel. The euro edged higher against the dollar. European markets were jolted by Friday's announcement that the suspension of Russian gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be extended indefinitely. Shortages have pushed up prices and weigh on economic growth. Truss will have to hit the ground running as the U.K. prepares for a brutal winter," Craig Erlam of Oanda said in a report. Noting news reports that Truss plans to freeze energy bills, Erlam said the question is what impact it will have on inflation and gas demand. In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.3% to 7,307.22 and Frankfurt's DAX advanced 0.4% to 12,816.01. The CAC 40 in France gained 0.2% to 6,103.77. On Wall Stree

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Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Wednesday after traders shrugged off higher US inflation and a decline in Japanese machinery orders. London and Paris opened higher while Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul rose. Tokyo was off less than 0.5%. On Tuesday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index climbed 0.3% to a new high, propelled by tech and consumer stocks on optimism the vaccine rollout will allow business activity to return to normal. Johnson & Johnson fell 1.3% after US regulators suspended use of its single-dose vaccine to investigate possibly dangerous blood clots. The US government reported consumer prices increased by a stronger-than-expected 0.6% in March, the fastest rate since 2012. Higher inflation normally fuels fears interest rates might be raised to keep prices stable, but the Federal Reserve has said the economy will be allowed to run hot to ensure a recovery is in place. Traders took the well-telegraphed inflation pick-up' in stride, Stephen Innes of

Rate-sensitive bank shares gained 3.2%, tracking a surge in the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 296.93 points, or 1.05%, at the open to 28,696.74

The biggest boost to the main indexes were the FAANG group of stocks - Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Netflix Inc - after bullish brokerage comments

Wall Street's main indexes have been powered recently by hopes of a trade deal, largely better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a third interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve

The rally was also helped by easing demand for safe-haven government bonds, with investors looking for bargains in beaten-down stocks after three weeks of declines

S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were on track to log their worst quarter in more than two years on concerns over a global trade war and interest rate hikes