Stocks close up on Syria optimism
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange last week. Over the past couple of weeks, the steady drumbeat to war had spooked investors and weighed on a number of financial assets, such as stocks, but underpinned oil prices. (Sept. 5, 2013) Credit: Getty Images
Stocks rose and oil prices fell Tuesday as the risk that the United States would attack Syria appeared to fade.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index had its sixth straight gain, the longest winning streak since July.
Stocks set new highs in early August, but worries over Syria have pushed them lower since then. Even though Syria isn't a big oil producer, the possibility of a wider conflict in the region drove oil prices to two-year highs last week.
Tuesday, investors were relieved that Syria accepted a proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control for dismantling. The possibility that the crisis between the United States and Syria might be solved peacefully was a factor in the stock market's gain on Monday, too.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 127.94 points to close at 15,191.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.73 percent to 1,683.99 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.62 percent to 3,729.02.
Crude oil, which closed above $110 a barrel on Friday, lost $2.13, almost 2 percent, to close at $107.39 a barrel. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose. The biggest gains were in financial and industrial stocks.-- AP
Updated 3 minutes ago Suozzi visits ICE 'hold rooms' ... U.S. cuts child vaccines ... Coram apartment fire ... Out East: Custer Institute and Observatory
Updated 3 minutes ago Suozzi visits ICE 'hold rooms' ... U.S. cuts child vaccines ... Coram apartment fire ... Out East: Custer Institute and Observatory
