US stock market ends higher as Senate reaches debt limit deal

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Major US indices closed higher Thursday as the Senate reached a debt limit deal, averting the risk of a government default.

The Dow Jones gained alsmost 338 points, or 0.98%, to near 34,755, while the S&P 500 was up 36, or 0.83%, to 4,399.

The Nasdaq jumped 152, or 1.05%, to 14,654 with Twitter and AMC Entertainment rising 4.4% and 3.6%, respectively.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier that the upper chamber reached an agreement to extend the debt ceiling through early December.

His statement came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Democrats a short-term debt limit extension to cover current spending late Wednesday.

Averting the risk of a default, the VIX volatility index plummeted 6.9% to 19.54, as the fear index slipped below the critical mark of 20 for the first time since Sept. 28, according to official figures.

The dollar index was down 0.07% to 94.20 but the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was up 3.4 to 1.576%.

Although crude prices reversed course from their three-year highs earlier for the second consecutive day, they regained losses and climbed into positive territory.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $82.42 per barrel with a 1.6% gain and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $78.81 -- a 1.8% increase.

Precious metals turned negative with gold falling 0.34% to $1,756 per ounce and silver fell 0.1% to $22.6.

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading at $54,200 with a 1.7% loss.

The total value of the digital coin market stood at $2.3 trillion with Bitcoin dominating with a 44.3% share, according to data by digital asset price-tracking website CoinMarketCap.