NEW YORK: The tech-rich Nasdaq rocketed above 7,000 for the first time Monday and the Dow rose to a new record as a long-awaited US tax cut proposal approached final passage.
Near 1745 GMT, the Nasdaq Composite Index had surged to 7,002.46, up 1.0 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent to 24,825.74, as did the broad-based S&P 500 which advanced to 2,693.85.
The gains pushed through the records hit Friday after holdout Republican senators signaled support for the massive tax cut package, which President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law before the end of the year.
“We are in the ‘sweet spot’ of December, and there is a lot of bullish optimism as we head toward the New Year,” said Ken Berman, strategist at Gorilla Trades, citing the tax bill’s progress.
The gains were broad-based, with energy, financial and materials shares all pushing higher, in addition to technology.
Large technology companies including Apple, Amazon and Google-parent Alphabet all climbed more than one percent. Twitter jumped 9.7 percent following an upgrade by JPMorgan Chase.
Technology shares have experienced some volatility in recent weeks due to profit taking, but investors have dived back in after each pullback.
Freight rail company CSX was essentially flat after announcing that chief executive E. Hunter Harrison died over the weekend. Chief operating officer Jim Foote will serve as acting CEO, the company said.
Source: Brecorder.com
