US stocks flat on tax reform bill nears final approval

20 Dec, 2017

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up slightly at 24,760.64.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,682.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.1 percent at 6,957.17.

The Senate narrowly approved the sweeping tax overhaul early Wednesday in a party-line vote, setting the stage for the House to vote on the measure again after a last-minute snag over parliamentary rules nullified its earlier approval.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill this week.

Some analysts have questioned whether stocks could continue to rise after surging to repeat records in recent weeks in anticipation of the tax bill. At the same time, analysts cite strengthening US economic data and historic seasonal trends as factors that could further boost stocks.

FedEx rose 2.5 percent after reporting a second-quarter profits rose 10.7 percent to $775 million and boosting its earnings forecast on solid demand.

Chip company Micron Technology jumped 4.0 percent as first-quarter earnings rose 13.1 percent to $2.7 billion on strong growth in its business connected to mobile technology and servers.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Press), 2017
 

 

 

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