Stocks end higher a day after Fed hikes rates

Traders
work on the floor of the NYSE in New York
Thomson Reuters

Stocks rose Thursday, with the S&P 500 recovering from a
four-session losing streak, a day after the Federal Reserve
increased its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage
point. The dollar rose to a two-week high, and Treasury yields
fell. 

Here’s the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial
average: 
26,442.74
 
+57.46 (+0.22%)

S&P
500: 2,914.30 +8.33 (+0.29%)

Nasdaq
Composite: 8,041.97+51.60 (+0.65%)

1. Ahead of a self-imposed NAFTA deadline this weekend,
   the Trump administration looks set to leave Canada
   behind. 
   The US is expected to publish text
   of a bilateral trade agreement with Mexico on
   Friday, 
   which Canada could presumably join if
   it makes concessions. Key sticking points include access to
   Canada’s protected dairy market and rules on resolving trade
   disputes.
2. Italy’s budget rattles European markets.
   Concerns about the ambitious spending plans of the Five
   Star and the League, a new populist government coalition, led
   to a delay in the release of Italy’s 2019 budget. The
   budget-deficit target was settled at 2.4%,
   Reuters reports, as officials push for programs like basic
   income. 
3. Breaking three months of gains, the Commerce Department
   said a closely-watched measure of US business demand
   unexpectedly fell last month. Core durable goods
   orders excluding aircrafts, or long-lasting items made in
   US factories, fell 0.5% month-over-month. Other data out
   Thursday showed a slump in exports led the US trade deficit to
   a six-month high in August.
4. Less than two months ahead of midterms, House
   Republicans are set to pass a
   $631 billion tax-cut extension this week. But
   the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, with some concerned
   efforts to bolster Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax overhaul
   could backfire as the federal deficit races to
   unprecedented heights. 

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• Canada reports monthly GDP. 
• The US releases consumer spending numbers and its latest
  consumer-price index reading.