U.S. stocks close higher on budget-deal hopes Sha

U.S. stocks close higher on budget-deal hopes
Shares of NYSE Euronext rally on news of deal with ICE
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as Republican House Speaker John Boehner expressed optimism about reaching a budget deal with President Barack Obama.

Boehner told an afternoon news conference that he planned to continue working with Obama, even as the Ohio Republican pushed a vote on his plan to limit prospective tax hikes to incomes of more than $1 million.

“Maybe the conciliatory aspect is what the market is biting on, perhaps there is more openness to this being a negotiating tool rather than a final step,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.
“I still think there is a good chance that we have something that is agreed to by the 31st of December, maybe absent some detail, but one where we can in fact go into the beginning of the year with a framework for discussion,” Luschini added. See MarketWatch’s fiscal cliff page

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) rose 59.75 points, or 0.5%, to end at 13,311.72, with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) up 3% and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) up 2.3%.

The S&P 500 index (SNC:SPX) rose 7.88 points, or 0.6%, to 1,443.69, with financials leading gains among its 10 major industry groups.

IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) said it would acquire NYSE Euronext Inc. (NYSE:NYX) for $8.2 billion in stock and cash. Shares of NYSE Euronext rallied 34%, making the company the top gainer in the S&P 500. Read: ICE to buy NYSE Euronext.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index (NASDAQ:COMP) added 6.02 points, or 0.2%, to 3,050.39.

Around 682 million shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Composite volume topped 3.6 billion. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-sl...=afterbell