Investing.com – Wall Street raced to record highs on Monday buoyed by signs tax reform is inching closer to pass amid reports that Republican lawmakers are set to vote on the bill this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 24,792.20. The S&P 500 closed 0.90% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6936.58, up 1.17%.
US stocks closed at record levels as news reports suggested that Sen. Mike Lee will support the Republican tax plan, raising investor hopes that the bill could pass this week.
Congress is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on the bill which includes a plan to cut corporate taxes rate to 21% from 35%.
Tax reform has been one of the key catalysts underpinning the recent rally in US equities amid expectations the measure will spur economic growth and encourage companies to raise capital expenditure.
Also supporting sentiment was a report showing homebuilder sentiment rose to 74 in November, the highest reading since 1999. That beat economists’ forecasts for a reading of 70, fuelling investor optimism on the housing sector.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) up 3.8%, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) up 2.1% and DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) up 2%
Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) down 0.6%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) down 0.5% and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) down 0.5%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.