Markets Rally After US 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

Markets breathed a huge sigh of relief Wednesday after U.S. lawmakers reached a budget agreement that will stop hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that risked plunging the world's biggest economy into recession.

Stocks around the world started 2013 with hefty gains as investors welcomed the vote in the House of Representatives that made sure the U.S. does not go over the so-called "fiscal cliff." Though longer-term fiscal problems remain and President Barack Obama will likely face more battles with the Republican-dominated House, investors were relieved that the biggest near-term stumbling block to the world economy has been cleared.

"The degree to which the U.S. fiscal cliff was causing investors to repress risk appetite is all too clear on the first trading day of 2013," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average spiked around 250 points, or 1.9 percent, to 13,349, while the broader S&P 500 index rose 1.9 percent too to 1,453.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 2.2 percent to 6,027.37, its first foray above the 6,000 mark since July 2011. The CAC-40 in France rose 2.6 percent to 3,733.93 while Germany's DAX ended 2.2 percent higher at 7,778.68.

AP

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.,... View Full Caption

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., center, leaves a second Republican caucus meeting to discuss the "fiscal cliff" bill passed by the Senate Monday night_and now awaits a vote in the GOP-controlled House_ at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Close

Earlier, in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shot up 2.9 percent to close at 23,311.89, its highest finish since June 1, 2011. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.2 percent to close at 4,705.90, its best finish in 19 months while South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.7 percent to 2,031.10. Japanese and Chinese markets were closed for public holidays.

The bill that Congress approved calls for higher taxes on income over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples, a victory for Obama. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent. It also delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts that had been set to start affecting the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week.

If lawmakers had not agreed by the Jan. 1, 2013 deadline on the new budget measures, more than $500 billion in tax increases would have hit the economy in 2013 alone. Government spending worth $109 billion would have been cut from the military and domestic spending programs.

Though fears over an imminent fall off the "fiscal cliff" have eased, investors still have a host of issues to worry about. The next possible point of contention will be in two months' time, when U.S. politicians will debate the debt ceiling and spending cuts that did not make it into the latest deal.

"No agreement would mean a technical default on U.S. debt in March," said Michael Ingram, market analyst at BGC Brokers. "The U.S. bond market would go into cardiac arrest."

Investors will also keep a close watch on any response from the credit rating agencies. After a fight in Congress to raise the debt limit in 2011, Standard & Poor's lowered the U.S. government's AAA bond rating, citing the lack of a credible plan to reduce the federal government's debt. It also voiced its concerns about the "effectiveness, stability and predictability of American policymaking."

Meanwhile, investors will be monitoring the state of the global economic recovery and Europe's ongoing battle to contain its 3-year debt crisis.