New York: The Dow added to records early Wednesday following solid US hiring data and relief at Italy’s more conciliatory stance towards Brussels on its budget plans.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 26,885.37, up 0.4 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 and tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also both rose 0.4, with the former at 2,934.11 and 8,029.96.
US companies added 230,000 jobs in September, well above analyst expectations.
In the services sector — a key driver of the US economy — professional and business services gained 70,000, while health services jumped 37,000, and trade, transportation and utilities added another 30,000.
Italian newspapers reported the country’s populist government planned to begin to reduce the budget deficit in 2020.
The reports came after Italy’s government announced last week that it was setting its deficit at 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), raising alarm bells in Brussels and worries in markets over the prospects for another bout of eurozone instability.
[source_without_link]AFP[/source_without_link]