US equity markets staged an impressive performance on Wednesday in the aftermath of the deal by politicians to avert the fiscal cliff.

While the budget saga Stateside is far from over - talks over spending cuts go on while concerns over the government's debt ceiling have resurfaced - the House of Representatives passed a Senate-backed bill in the early hours of Tuesday morning to stop massive tax rises and spending cuts, by 257 votes to 167. A day before the same legislation had cleared the Senate by a majority of 89 votes to 8.

Analysts at Link Securities said that the agreement eliminates the "worst case scenario" and the danger of a new US recession.

The Dow Jones jumped more than 300 points, its best one-day advance since December 2011. This was the first-day-of-the-year point jump in history for the index, according to Marketwatch.

M&A again in the news


Rare earths group Molycorp rose on the back of a positive mention in Bloomberg. The news agency cited analysts who said that Molycorp could become a takeover target now that its market capitalisation had fallen below its net asset value.

Zipcar soared by 48% on news that Avis Budget Group had agreed to buy the company.

GE finished higher on news that it will acquire 32 wind farms from Spanish outfit Iberdrola for €350m.

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard was higher on reports that it is considering selling non-core assets.

Retailer Walgreen was performing well after Raymond James upgraded its rating for the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral'. Meanwhile, United States Steel Corp was boosted by Credit Suisse which lifted its view of the stock from 'neutral' to 'outperform'.

ISM survey beats forecasts
The ISM manufacturing index for the month of December rose to 50.7 points after a reading of 49.5 the month before, led by a rise in the 'prices paid' component. The consensus estimate was 50.5. The new orders sub-index remained steady at 50.3.

Construction spending fell 0.3% month-on-month in November, missing the 0.6% rise expected.

Meanwhile, same-store retail chain sales increased by 0.6% last week, the latest ICSC survey data revealed. Estimates were for a greater 0.7% gain.



S&P 500 - Risers
United States Steel Corp. (X) $25.89 +8.55%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $38.73 +7.20%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $100.05 +6.73%
MetLife Inc. (MET) $35.15 +6.71%
Windstream Corp. (WIN) $8.80 +6.28%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $56.01 +6.20%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $37.56 +6.13%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $27.41 +5.83%
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) $20.84 +5.73%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $61.23 +5.70%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $32.05 -51.07%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $31.01 -3.40%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $25.84 -2.89%
Metropcs Communications Inc. (PCS) $9.70 -2.41%
Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) $84.21 -2.08%
Macy's Inc. (M) $38.31 -1.82%
EMC Corp. (EMC) $24.84 -1.82%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $42.21 -1.79%
Dollar Tree Stores Inc. (DLTR) $39.90 -1.63%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $9.60 -1.44%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $15.02 +5.40%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $93.50 +4.34%
AT&T Inc. (T) $35.00 +3.83%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $37.60 +3.72%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.38 +3.69%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $12.03 +3.62%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.99 +3.57%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.34 +3.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.62 +3.41%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $25.91 +3.31%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $100.05 +6.73%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $56.01 +6.20%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $181.20 +5.92%
Dell Inc. (DELL) $10.68 +5.28%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $28.00 +5.19%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $53.59 +5.08%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $31.95 +5.03%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $118.07 +4.96%
Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $35.99 +4.93%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $26.67 +4.78%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Dollar Tree Stores Inc. (DLTR) $39.90 -1.63%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $63.16 -0.09%

BC

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