Investing.com – Wall Street was higher on Thursday amid news that Republicans have made a deal on the sweeping tax-reform bill.
The S&P 500 inched forward four points or 0.16% as of 10:29 AM ET (15:29 GMT) while the Dow composite was up 45 points or 0.18% and the tech heavy NASDAQ Composite rose 17 points or 0.26%.
The GOP has agreed to a tax-reform bill that could be voted on as early as next week. The corporate tax rate would be decreased to 21%, higher than the original 20% proposed and would be implemented in 2018. Investors believe the tax cuts would help companies invest more and boost the economy.
Bank stocks were among the biggest gainers after the morning bell. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) rose 0.90% while JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) was up 0.81%. Meanwhile Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) surged 2.18% while luxury car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) increased 1.93% and pharmaceutical firm Teva Pharma Industries Ltd ADR (NYSE:TEVA) skyrocketed 13.79%.
Elsewhere Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) fell 2.74% while semiconductor Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) was down 0.84% and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) decreased 0.18%.
In economic news, U.S. retail sales surged more than expected in November while jobless claims fell unexpectedly, pointing to sustained growth and a strengthening economy. Meanwhile the Federal Reserve increased interest rates on December, as expected.
Stocks in Europe were mostly down. In Germany the DAX rallied 27 points or 0.21% while France’s CAC 40 decreased 11 points or 0.22% and in London the FTSE 100 lost 19 points or 0.22%. Meanwhile Spain’s IBEX 35 fell 32 points or 0.32% and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was down four points or 0.11%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.38% to $1,253.40 a troy ounce while crude oil futures dipped down 0.12% to 56.53 a barrel. The U.S dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, railled 0.33% to 93.71.