Wall Street Rises Again Thursday       10/01 09:18

   Wall Street is rising again in Thursday morning trading with hopes that 
Washington can get past its partisanship to deliver more support for the 
economy.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is rising again in Thursday morning trading 
with hopes that Washington can get past its partisanship to deliver more 
support for the economy.

   The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher as talks continue on a deal that could send more 
cash to Americans, restore jobless benefits for laid-off workers and deliver 
assistance to airlines and other industries hit particularly hard by the 
pandemic.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 149 points, or 0.5%, at 27,931, as 
of 9:47 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.

   Treasury yields also rose after a report indicated the pace of layoffs 
across the country may have slowed last week. The number of workers filing for 
unemployment benefits fell to 837,000 from 873,000 the prior week. It's a 
larger decline than economists expected, though the number remains incredibly 
high compared with before the pandemic.

   Another report said that consumer spending strengthened by more than 
expected in August, which is key because it's the biggest driver of the U.S. 
economy. But personal incomes weakened by more than expected during the month.

   The numbers add to an already mixed picture on the economy, which has seen 
some slowdowns recently after the last round of stimulus approved by Congress 
expired. The Walt Disney Co. and other major companies have announced even more 
layoffs this week, and the clock is ticking on Washington to offer more support.

   The CEO of American Airlines said that it would reverse the furloughs of 
19,000 workers if Washington can reach a deal with $25 billion for airlines 
"over the next few days." United Airlines told government leaders that it could 
also undo the furloughs of 13,000 workers.

   Airline stocks were higher in Thursday morning trading, part of widespread 
gains for the market. American Airlines climbed 2.5%, and United Airlines was 
up 0.7%, though their movements were volatile.

   Technology stocks had the biggest gains in the market, much as they have 
through the pandemic as work-from-home and other accelerating trends boost 
their profits.

   Rising and falling hopes for a deal on Capitol Hill sent stocks on a 
roller-coaster ride Wednesday, much as they have over the last several weeks.

   Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke for 
90 minutes on Wednesday, and hopes for an agreement helped send the S&P 500 up 
as much as 1.7% during the day. But after Pelosi said in the afternoon that 
they still had "areas where we are seeking further clarification," the index 
gave up all but 0.1% of its gain before resuming momentum at the end of the day.

   The pair have worked effectively together in the past, and they helped drive 
through the previous economic rescue approved by Congress in March. But the 
country's partisan divide has only deepened since then, which has stymied 
progress on aid that investors say is crucial for the economy. The next 
election is only about a month away.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 0.70% from 0.69% late Wednesday.

   In Asian markets, trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was suspended due to a 
technical failure in its computer systems.

   The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it plans for normal trading to resume on 
Friday. Officials said trading was halted early Thursday because rebooting the 
huge system after the malfunction would have caused confusion.

   TSE President Koichiro Miyahara repeatedly apologized for the disruption to 
trading on the world's third largest exchange, where about 70% of brokerage 
trading both by value and volume is by foreigners.

   The outage on the exchange eclipsed Japan's main economic news of the day, 
the first improvement in manufacturing sentiment in three years, despite the 
pandemic.

   Trading in stock markets for South Korea, Hong Kong and mainland China was 
closed for national holidays.

   In Europe, Germany's DAX returned 0.1%, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.6%. The 
FTSE 100 in London added 0.3%.

   A report showed that news unemployment rose for the fifth straight month 
among countries that use the euro amid concern that extensive government 
support programs won't be able keep many businesses hit by coronavirus 
restrictions afloat forever.