Stocks are edging higher as word the shutdown has been shut down, and the government is open for business again.  Hooray.  To a large degree, this theater is the ultimate insult to Americans paying through the nose for a bloated government that has morphed into a giant entity that only seeks its own survival.  I think Americans would like to see a resolution on DACA, an infrastructure deal, better border security (including a wall) and broad prosperity. 

Haliburton’s strong earnings is propelling energy higher, along with technology, which is on auto-pilot. 

At midday, advancers outpace decliners 1716/1176 on the NYSSE and 1436/1367 on the Nasdaq.