NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks jumped back into record territory early Monday following Senate passage of the massive and long-awaited tax cut plan.
The Senate’s 51-49 passage of the Republican tax measure late Friday night sets the stage for President Donald Trump to sign into law Wall Street’s biggest priority in time for Christmas.
The stock gains are based on the expectation that cutting the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent should juice profits, justifying higher valuations.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 24,481.09, up 1.0 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent to 2,664.55, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.7 percent to 6,897.42.
Sectors with larger gains included consumer discretionary, financial and industrial stocks.
Insurer Aetna rose 1.7 percent after agreeing to be acquired by drugstore chain CVS Health for $69 billion in a move that would broaden the pharmacy’s traditional functions to include clinics and more nuts-and-bolts health services. CVS fell 4.0 percent.
Insurers Cigna and Humana both climbed about one percent amid talk that they also could be acquired in similarly structured transactions.
Twenty-First Century Fox rose 2.7 percent following reports it has resumed talks to sell some entertainment assets to Disney. Disney gained 2.4 percent.
Source: Brecorder.com
