US shares up on Summers withdrawal

Larry Summers has withdrawn from the race to be the new Fed chair.


Blue avatar for FOREX.com guest contributors
By :  ,  Financial Analyst

US shares rose yesterday (September 16th) on the back of the news Larry Summers has pulled out of the race to replace Ben Bernanke as chair of the Federal Reserve.

Mr Summers, who many economists believed was the favourite for the job, confirmed his withdrawal in a letter to US president Barack Obama.

Following this move, the Dow Jones rose 118.72 points – or a jump of 0.77 per cent – to 15,494.78, reports BBC News.

Markets across Europe also had a good start to the week, with Germany's Dax index 1.2 per cent higher and France's Cac 40 up 0.9 per cent, while the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent.

Mr Summers said in his letter to Mr Obama that any confirmation process for him was likely to be "acrimonious". It was believed that he was the president's preferred candidate for the role.

Federal Reserve vice-chairman Janet Yellen is now thought to be the main contender to replace Mr Bernanke as the head of the organisation.

Find out about commodities trading and learn CFD strategies at City Index

Related tags:

Open an account today

Experience award-winning platforms with fast and secure execution.

Web Trader platform

Our sophisticated web-based platform is packed with features.
Economic Calendar