Stocks rally as Italy fears subside

Stocks rallied Wednesday as global markets shook off political turmoil in Italy and as the Federal Reserve Board voted to rewrite a post-financial crisis rule on bank trading. US Treasury bond yields rose, and the dollar fell.

Here's the scoreboard:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 24,676.80 315.35 (+1.29%)

S&P 500: 2,724.22 34.36 (+1.28%)

AUD/USD: 0.7576 0.0071 (+0.95%)

ASX 200 SPI futures: 6,032.5 +66.0 (+1.11%)

1. A North Korean official is in New York to try to salvage the Trump-Kim Jong Un summit. The Associated Press reports that Kim Yong Chol is the highest-level official to come to the US since 2000. He's meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after President Donald Trump last week canceled a planned meeting with Pyongyang.
2. Italian markets made a comeback. The country's FTSE MIB index rose 2% after premier-designate Carlo Cottarelli said "new possibilities" for forming a government had emerged, lowering the prospect of a snap election in the coming months.
3. Trading rules for big banks look poised to loosen. The Federal Reserve Board voted to revise the Volcker Rule, a Dodd-Frank mandate that regulates trading by financial institutions.
4. The US economy slowed more than initially thought in the first quarter. The Commerce Department revised GDP growth to an annualized rate of 2.2%, slightly lower than the original estimate of 2.3%.
5. Oil rallied on report OPEC could extend production cuts through the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, rose more than 2% to $68.21 a barrel.
6. US-China trade talks are at risk. Some doubt negotiations can advance anytime soon, after the Trump administration announced plans to move forward with tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods less than two weeks after putting a trade war "on hold."
7. The Bank of Canada held its key rate unchanged, but signaled monetary policy could tighten in the coming months. The loonie rose as much as 2% versus the dollar following the announcement.

A look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• US employment numbers are out.
• Eurozone inflation and employment data is released.
• Canada GDP data crosses the wire.

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