NEW YORK: The Dow finished at another record Wednesday as the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates and a major US tax cut bill in Congress moved closer to the finish line.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.3 percent at 24,585.43.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,662.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 6,878.80.
Citing the strong labor market and solid economy, the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee increased the key lending rate to 1.25-1.5 percent, an increase of a quarter point.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, in her final news conference, said she was not anxious about soaring US equity values.
While stock values “are on the high end of historical ranges,” that could be justified in a long period of low interest rates, Yellen said.
“There’s less to lose sleep about now,” Yellen said, adding, “We have a much more resilient, stronger banking system. And we are not seeing some worrisome build-up in leverage or credit growth at successive levels.”
Analysts also cited reports that Senate and House Republican leaders reached an agreement in principal on the long-awaited tax bill, setting the stage for final passage next week.
“The news appears to be good,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management. “Congress is moving to an adoption of the tax cuts. The Fed indicated the economy is growing fast.”
The Dow’s biggest mover was Caterpillar, which jumped 3.6 percent following an update that showed solid gains in worldwide machine sales in each of the last three months. November sales rose 26 percent compared with the year-ago period.
Twenty-First Century Fox fell 4.0 percent on reports it is close to an all-stock $60 billion deal to sell key assets to Disney. Disney rose 0.2 percent.
Shares of the two media companies have been volatile in recent weeks on various reports over the status of the deal.
Source: Brecorder.com
