US stocks end higher despite Moody's downgrade of US credit rating

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – US stocks ended higher Monday, brushing off a decision by Moody's to downgrade the US credit rating.

The major indexes started the day on a negative course as the international credit rating agency’s decision raised concerns about the country's financial and economic outlook but turned positive towards the close.

Moody's downgraded the US credit rating from “Aaa” to “Aa1” after markets closed Friday while changing the outlook from “negative” to “stable.”

The agency said in a statement that the downgrade reflected the fact that public debt and interest payment rates have risen to significantly higher levels compared to similarly rated countries for more than a decade.

As a result, Moody's became the last of the three major credit rating agencies to downgrade the US’s credit rating.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Monday that US President Donald Trump disagreed with Moody's assessment.

Bond yields started to rise after Moody's decision, while the US 10-year bond yield rose to 4.56% and stabilized at 4.45%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.32%, or 137.33 points, to close at 42,792.07.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.023%, or 4.36 points, to 19,215.46 and the S&P 500 inched up 0.088%, or 5.22 points, to 5,963.60.

The VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," rose 5.22% to 18.14.