Stocks Up, Gold Down as Markets React to Deal

The debt ceiling deal quickly helped calm hyperventilating markets, with S&P 500 stock futures up 1.5% on overnight trading, Asian stock markets up, and gold down, reports Reuters. But with the US dollar mostly unchanged, long-term US treasury bonds down, and the continued threat of a downgrade to the US's AAA debt rating, markets are far from convinced that all is well. "For the rally to be durable, markets will need more than this downpayment agreement," said one investor.

Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.3% and the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan was up 1.7%. Oil futures and other risky assets, however, rose only slightly, as investors changed focus to the likelihood of a US debt rating downgrade and the problems of the eurozone. "There is still heightened risk aversion in the market, and gold will probably be volatile in the next few days," said a commodities analyst. (More debt ceiling stories.)