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By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. again purchased Argentine pesos in the open market on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters, adding that the department was working with banks and investment funds to create a $20 billion facility to invest in the South American country's sovereign debt. Bessent said during a press conference that the facility would sit alongside a new $20 billion U.S. currency swap line for Argentina, providing a total of $40 billion in support for Latin America's third-largest economy. Bessent did not provide details of the peso operation, which follows an initial U.S. purchase on October 9. He also clarified that the U.S. would continue to support Argentina financially as long as President Javier Milei's government pursues "good policies," regardless of the outcome of a parliamentary election on October 26. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. would not "waste our time" with Argentina if Milei's party loses the elections. Bessent said the Trump administration's support for Argentina "is not election-specific," but a win for Milei's La Libertad Avanza party would ensure that the right-wing Argentine president has a sufficient majority to be able to veto policies aimed at ending his libertarian fiscal austerity agenda and free-market overhauls of the country's crisis-prone economy. "It is policy-specific. So as long as Argentina continues enacting good policy, they will have U.S. support," Bessent said. BESSENT SAYS 'WE COULD' BUY DEBT Asked if the peso operation would be accompanied by U.S. purchases of Argentine debt, Bessent said, "We could," without elaborating. Work on the private-sector debt investment facility has been underway for weeks, but Bessent did not provide a timeline for any debt purchases. "So it is a private-sector solution to Argentina's upcoming debt payments," Bessent said. "Many banks are interested in it, and many sovereign funds have expressed interest in being part of it." The Trump administration has disclosed few details about the $20 billion swap line that it has pledged to Argentina. Bessent confirmed it would be backed by International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights assets that are held in the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund and would be converted to dollars. Asked whether the U.S. would assume a preferred creditor status ahead of the IMF or private-sector lenders, Bessent said: "No, that's what China does, we don't do that." (Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Paul Simao)

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(Reuters) -Core Scientific's board urged its shareholders on Wednesday to vote for the company's proposed sale to CoreWeave. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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By Noel Randewich (Reuters) -The S&P 500 ended higher on Wednesday, with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America rallying after solid quarterly results, while investors remained focused on the recent increase in China-U.S. trade tensions. Morgan Stanley's shares jumped 4.7% to a record high, while Bank of America rose 4.4% after the top lenders beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on dealmaking strength.  The S&P 500 banking index rose 1.2% in its first three-day winning streak in more than three weeks. A day earlier, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase reported solid performance in investment banking and predicted that the business would continue to boom. This week's bank results indicate strength for major U.S. companies as third-quarter earnings season kicks off, and they also provide hints of the economy's health while many macroeconomic reports remain on hold due to a government shutdown. "People are spending, and the consumer seems to be fine. That's been one of the messages from the bank earnings," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta. "Employment is not falling like a stone. Both inflation and employment are within ranges that are basically reasonable." The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3% after ASML reported third-quarter orders and operating income above market expectations, lifted by booming AI investment. ASML's U.S. stock rallied 2.7%. An investment consortium including BlackRock, Microsoft and Nvidia will buy one of the world's biggest data center operators in a $40 billion deal. Shares of data center firms rose, with Applied Digital surging. The S&P 500 climbed 0.40% to end the session at 6,671.06 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.66% to 22,670.08 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.04% to 46,253.31 points. Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by real estate, up 1.5%, followed by a 1.29% gain in utilities. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 21.5 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 20.4 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington did not want to escalate a trade conflict with China, emphasizing that President Donald Trump is ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month. On Tuesday, Trump said Washington was considering cutting some trade ties with China, including in relation to cooking oil. The two countries this week began imposing tit-for-tat port fees. Bessent also said he plans to present three or four Federal Reserve chief candidates to Trump for him to interview sometime after the U.S.  Thanksgiving holiday. Fed Governor Stephen Miran at a CNBC event said "two more cuts this year sounds realistic," noting that the labor market has clearly weakened. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday also left the door open to rate cuts.  The Fed said in its latest Beige Book report compiled through October 6 that some employers reported cutting jobs due to economic uncertainty, and in some cases, due to increased investment in AI. The report also showed the labor supply in hospitality, agriculture, construction and manufacturing was strained due to the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. Abbott declined 2.4% following downbeat quarterly revenue from the medical equipment maker. Progressive Corp fell 5.8% after the insurer reported third-quarter results. Bunge jumped almost 13%, despite the grain trader lowering its 2025 earnings forecast following its merger with Viterra. The number of declining stocks matched rising ones within the S&P 500. The S&P 500 posted 34 new highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 154 new highs and 46 new lows. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis)

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