Stocks Open Sharply Higher on Summers Withdrawal

U.S. stocks soared early Monday as investors bet that the exit of Lawrence Summers as a candidate for chairman of the Federal Reserve could mean a slower scaling back of monetary stimulus by the U.S. central bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately climbed 150.98 points, or 0.98%, to 15,527.04. The S&P 500 index jumped 13.30 points, or 0.79%, to 1,701.29. The Nasdaq Composite
rose 17.79 points, or 0.48%, to 3,739.97.

U.S. industrial production rose in August as a bounce back in motor vehicle assembly lifted manufacturing output, a hopeful sign for the economy after growth got off to a slow start in the third quarter. Industrial output increased 0.4 percent last month after being flat in July, the Federal Reserve said on Monday.

Federal Reserve officials will face at least three sources of economic uncertainty when they gather Tuesday and Wednesday: rising U.S. interest rates, unsettling events abroad and another battle in Washington’s long-running budget war.

Freddie Mac, the No. 2 U.S. home funding company, said it will sell $2 billion of reference bills on Monday. Freddie Mac said it plans to sell $1 billion of three-month bills due Dec. 16, 2013, and $1 billion of six-month bills due March 17, 2014.