This Is the Reason the S&P 500 Roared Higher
Surprise -- the stock market is roaring higher on speculation that a fiscal deal compromise may be reached. The markets staged their biggest rally so far this month as House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama met behind closed doors to discuss a potential fiscal cliff compromise. On the day, the broad-based S&P 500 jumped 16.78 points (1.19%) to finish at 1,430.36.
As you might expect, money center banks and homebuilders, two sectors intricately tied to the health of the economy and waiting on pins and needles for a fiscal cliff decision, are rallying in anticipation of a deal.
In the banking sector, Bank of America zoomed nearly 4% higher to a 17-month high, while Citigroup also clocked in at a new 52-week high. A fiscal cliff deal in this sector means good earnings visibility and a minimal likelihood that poorer quality loans still in their loan portfolios would move over to the non-performing asset category.
The housing sector was led higher by PulteGroup and D.R. Horton , which both rose by approximately 5%. Homebuilders are anxiously waiting to see if a reduction in mortgage interest deductions is included in any fiscal compromise, and whether or not it will hurt future sales.
If you were looking for the darkest cloud on a sunny day, then look no further than Peabody Energy which fell 4% following a price target drop by BMO Capital to $32 from $36.50. The news shouldn't come as much of a surprise to shareholders, who saw the company update its full-year forecast recently to a full-year profit of just $0.30 from a previous full-year EPS profit of $2.59. The company does believe the U.S. coal market has turned the corner, but it's now seeing challenges outside the United States.
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The article This Is the Reason the S&P 500 Roared Higher originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Sean Williams owns shares of Bank of America but has no material interest in any other companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America and Citigroup. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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