Stock Market News For Dec 1, 2017

Dow breached a fresh all time high to surge past the psychological 24,000 milestone on Thursday. The blue-chip index’s rally was fueled by rising optimism about the prospects of tax reforms after Senator McCain promised his support for the Tax Bill. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 also hit a record close following an increase in oil prices after OPEC extended its curbs on oil output till 2018. Finally, initial jobless claims hit a near 45-year low.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased 1.4%, to close at 24,272.35. The S&P 500 Index (INX) gained 0.8% to close at 2,647.58. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) closed at 6,873.97, increasing 0.7%. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,704 to 1,071. On Nasdaq, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by 1,538 to 1,221. The CBOE VIX increased 6.2% to close at 11.36.

McCain Supports Tax Bill, Dow Surpasses 24,000

The Dow amassed 331.7 points to close at a record on Thursday, finishing above the psychological 24,000 level for the first time in its history. Such a stellar rally was buoyed by increased hopes of tax reforms following Senator John McCain’s statements. McCain’s is seen as an important vote in getting the new tax code implemented.

After Republican Senators voted on Wednesday to initiate a formal debate on the Tax Bill, McCain stated that he would vote in favor of the Bill. This not only increased chances of the Bill being passed by the Senate on Friday but also boosted investor sentiment.

As a matter of fact, members of the GOP can successfully push through the Bill despite losing two votes. This can happen under special budget rules provided all the Democrats and Independents vote against the Bill. In such a case, Vice President Mike Pence could cast his tie-breaking vote to achieve a majority.

Senate was expected to vote later on Thursday and if the Bill proposed by the upper chamber is passed, the Senate and House would then have to prepare a new Bill to be presented to President Trump.

Also supporting the Dow’s run in intraday trade were shares of United Health Group (NYSE:UNH) , which gained 2.7%.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The S&P 500 also closed at a record, gaining 21.5 points in the process. All of the 11 major segments of the S&P 500 ended in the green, with industrials and energy shares leading the advancers. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLI) and Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) increased 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. Further, S&P 500’s rally was also supported by an increase in oil prices following OPEC’s decision to extend curbs on oil production till the end of next year.

Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 index (RUT) of small cap stocks gained 1.4 points to close 1,543.9. The small cap index hit an intraday record of 1,549.37 earlier in the session, following increased optimism around tax reforms after McCain’s comments.

Finally, the Nasdaq added almost 50 points to end the session in the positive territory. A rally in major tech stocks such as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) , Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) supported gains for the tech-heavy index. Shares of Facebook, Amazon and Apple gained 1.2%, 1.3% and 1.4%, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Economic Data

Initial jobless claims for the last week came in at 238,000, a near 45-year low. The figure also came in below 240,000 — the reading for the previous week. The consensus estimate for this period was 242,000.

Meanwhile, consumer spending surged 0.3% in October, in line with the consensus estimate for the period. Personal income surged 0.4% in October, surpassing the consensus estimate of a 0.3% increase. Further, the personal savings rate logged in a reading of 3.2%, higher than the previous month’s figure of 3%.

Finally, PCE Inflation for October came in at 0.1%, below the previous month’s figure of 0.4%. Core PCE Inflation, meanwhile, came in line with the consensus estimate of 0.2%.

Monthly Roundup

For the month of November, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq surged 3.87%, 2.8% and 2.2%. The blue-chip index posted its eighth consecutive month of gains — the highest streak of gains in the last 22 years. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 also posted eight straight months in gains. The last time around when the S&P 500 had achieved such a feat was back in 2007. The indexes have gained in the range of 18 to 28% so far in 2017.

The Fed chose not to hike rates in November and offered a positive view about the U.S. economy and said that it has been improving at a ‘solid rate.’ Also, House Republicans finally revealed a detailed framework for the new tax policy. Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee released a tax plan which aims to reduce corporate tax rate to 20% but not before 2019.

On Nov 16, the House finally passed the much awaited tax legislation as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Finally, The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes indicated that a rate hike is almost certain in December, but stated that only one or two rate hikes were likely in 2018.

Stocks That Made Headlines

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