Investing.com – Wall Street was set for a record opening bell on Monday as the increasing likelihood of the tax bill being passed boosts optimism among investors.
The S&P 500 futures rose nine points or 0.35% as of 6:49 AM ET (11:49 GMT) while Dow futures surged 132 points or 0.53%. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up 39 points or 0.60%.
On Friday, two undecided Republican senators agreed to support the bill, which nearly guarantees its passage. The House and Senate are expected to pass the proposal and deliver the bill to U.S. President Donald Trump by the end of the week for his signature.
Social media site Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, rising 4.14% after the platform said it would suspend accounts affiliated with hate groups both on and off the site. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 0.83% while semiconductor Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) increased 2.04% and Digital Power Corporation (NYSE:DPW) surged 5.05%
Elsewhere Teva Pharma Industries Ltd ADR (NYSE:TEVA) was down 1.99% while budget airline Ryanair was down 4.11% after it agree to recognize pilot unions. Investors are concerned the company’s labor cost could increase as a result.
In other news, the largest futures exchange, CME, launched its own Bitcoin futures exchange on Sunday. It’s the second launch this month and seen as a making the cryptocurrency recognized as a valued asset and increasing institutional demand.
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX surged 208 points or 1.59% while in France the CAC 40 increased 67 points or 1.26% and in London, the FTSE 100 inched forward 33 points or 0.45%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 rose 40 points or 1.15% while Spain’s IBEX 35 gained 74 points or 0.73%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.35% to $1,261.90 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.35% to $57.53 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.23% to 93.25.