Wall Street rallies on fiscal cliff optimism

Wall Street opened higher today as optimism from early-stage talks in Congress about tackling the US fiscal cliff spread to markets worldwide.

Soon after the bell rang on Monday, the Dow Jones rallied by 0.91% to 12,702, while the S&P 500 gained 1.27% to 1,377. The Nasdaq Composite index also gained 1.32% to 2,891, as investors reacted to reports that progress was being made by politicians to resolve the US debt problem. The moves meant the major US indices recovered some of the losses they have seen since Obama's re-election a fortnight ago. Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 have sold off by roughly 3% since Obama sealed his second term. Invstors reacted to reports Obama and Congressional leaders stepped up talks over the ...