NEW YORK: The stock market showed signs of life Tuesday following hopeful progress in budget talks being held in Washington. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had its biggest gain of December.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 78.56 points to 13,248.44, after climbing as much as 137 points earlier. The S&P finished up 9.29 points at 1,427.84. Both the Dow and the S&P have risen for five straight days.
The Nasdaq composite ended up 35.34 points at 3,022.30.
Delta Air Lines rose 52 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $10.66 after the company said it will buy almost half of Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic for $360 million as it seeks a bigger share of the lucrative New York-to-London travel market.
AIG gained $1.90 to $35.26 after the U.S. Treasury Department said it has sold the rest of its stake in the insurer. AIG was bailed out by the government after nearly collapsing during the 2008 financial crisis.
Stocks are holding on to their gains for the year. The Dow Jones is up 8.4 percent since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 13.5 percent.
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a new bond-buying plan to support the U.S. economy with the goal of further reducing long-term interest rates and encouraging borrowing by companies and individuals.
