Stocks rise despite shutdown

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks on Tuesday climbed for the first session in three, bouncing back from multiweek lows, as investors predicted the government’s first partial shutdown in 17 years would be short-lived and cause limited damage.

“The market likes certainty. Yesterday there was uncertainty. Today there is certainty that the government is starting to shut down. Right now, we think the fundamentals of companies and the economy will not be affected by what is going on in Washington,” said Mike Serio, a regional chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

The Dow Jones industrial average on Tuesday rose 62.03 points, or 0.4 percent, to end at 15,191.70. Merck & Co. led blue-chip gains, up 2.4 percent after the pharmaceutical company said it cut 8,500 workers.

McClatchy-Tribune