Wall Street closes decisively higher as government shutdown ends

• President Trump says they have reached a deal to end the shutdown.
• CBOE Volatility Index drops nearly 8%.
• Materials and technology lead gains on Friday.

Boosted by the strong upsurge seen in the major European equity indexes, Wall Street started the day on a strong note and continued to climb higher after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that they have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government. Reflecting the improved market sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 7.8% on the day.

Commenting on the market reaction, "Obviously the risk is on today. There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel with resolving the government shutdown," Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, told Reuters, and added: "But I find it difficult to have much conviction in this market on an upswing when there's so much uncertainty both politically and economically about where this country is headed."

 The risk-sensitive S&P 500 Technology Index gained 1.45% on the day and the S&P 500 Materials Index added 1.92% to become the best performing sector on Friday. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, only Utilities and Consumer Staples closed the day in the negative territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 175.92 points, or 0.72%, to 24,729.16, the S&P 500 added 21.27 points, or 0.80%, to 2,663.6 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 91.40 points, or 1.29%, to 7,164.86. For the week, the S&P 500 lost 0.85% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite posted small gains.