SME Times News Bureau | 06 Dec, 2017
US stocks traded
higher on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor the progress of the
country's tax reform.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 8.46 points, or 0.04 per
cent, to 24,298.51, Xinhua news agency reported.
The S&P 500 increased 7.76 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 2,647.20. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 50.65 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 6,826.01.
The US Senate on Saturday narrowly passed the Republican bill to overhaul the
tax code in decades, moving one step closer to the first major legislative
victory of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.
The House of Representatives had passed its own version of tax reform
legislation last month, which contained significant differences from the Senate
version.
Republicans currently plan to convene a conference in the next few weeks to
reconcile the House and Senate versions.
Overhauling the tax code is a top priority of Republicans and they are hoping
to send the final legislation to President Donald Trump before Christmas.
Analysts said market sentiment was boosted by the prospect of the tax bill,
sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record highs on Monday.
In corporate news, shares of Bank of America rose 0.7 per cent around midday
after the bank announced it would buy back an additional 5$ billion in stock.
The repurchase will take place through June 2018.