Optimism About Tax Reform Leads To Record Highs On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved to the upside in early trading and remained firmly positive throughout the trading session. With upward move on the day, the major averages reached new record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 140.46 points or 0.6 percent to 24,792.20, the Nasdaq advanced 58.18 points or 0.8 percent to 6,994.76 and the S&P 500 58.18 points or 0.1 percent to 6,994.76.

The initial strength on Wall Street partly reflected optimism about the outlook for Republican tax reform, which would cut corporate and individual tax rates.

"The House and Senate have agreed to a unified tax plan, and we will deliver it to the President's desk just in time for Christmas," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

He added, "We have been working toward this for years, and now the American people are closer to a plan that will deliver higher wages, lower taxes, a simpler system, and a stronger American economy."

The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Tuesday, with a vote in the Senate expected to follow short on the heels.

Positive sentiment may also have been generated by a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing an unexpected improvement in homebuilder confidence in the month of December.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index jumped to 74 in December from a downwardly revised 69 in November.

Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 70 originally reported for the previous month.

With the unexpected increase, the housing market index reached its highest level since hitting 75 in July of 1999.

Energy stocks saw considerable strength despite a modest decrease by the price of crude oil. Crude oil for January delivery edged down $0.14 to $57.16 a barrel.

Steel, semiconductor, and airline stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries moved lower but climbed off their worst levels of the day. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 3.5 basis points to 2.392 percent.