Stocks React to Shutdown with a Rise

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors appeared confident that the first partial government shutdown in nearly two decades would be short-lived. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 62.03 points, or 0.41%, to 15,191.70. The S&P 500 gained 13.45 points, or 0.80%, to 1,695.00. The Nasdaq Composite added 46.50 points, or 1.23%, to 3,817.98.

Manufacturing unexpectedly picked up in September, showing American factories were a source of strength for the world’s largest economy before the federal government shut down. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 56.2, the strongest since April 2011, from 55.7 a month earlier, the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s report showed today. Readings greater than 50 indicate growth.

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are floating a plan to reopen some shuttered federal agencies by passing small, individual funding bills for them, a senior House Republican aide said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Postal Service has defaulted on a $5.6 billion payment for retiree health benefits that was due on Monday, just as the Postmaster General had warned it would.