US stocks end higher as regional bank shares rally
Wall Street stocks were higher at the end of a choppy session on Tuesday as beaten-down regional banking shares advanced on a quiet day for markets. Investor sentiment has broadly improved with US lawmakers agreeing on a compromise fiscal package to avert a debt default and financial shares stabilising following the failure of four regional banks earlier in the year. Shares of KeyCorp, Fifth Third Bancorp and Comerica all rose about five percent or more on Tuesday. The Dow Jones edged up less than 0.1 percent to 33,573. The S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 4,283, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.4 percent to 13,276. "Wall Street's summer doldrums started early this year," said a note from Charles Schwab. "It's only the beginning of June, but it feels like the market is already on summer vacation after all the excitement of recent weeks." Among individual companies, Boeing dipped 0.7 percent as it disclosed that near-term deliveries of the Boeing 787 would be slowed due to an issue with a supplier part. The aviation giant does not expect the problem to affect its full-year delivery projections. Pharmaceutical giant Merck dropped 2.7 percent as it filed a suit against the government Medicare programme, challenging a new plan to limit prices. (AFP)