US stocks close higher amid tax reform speculation

US stocks ended higher amid market speculation on the timing of the tax reform.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday increased 17.49 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 23,439.70, Xinhua news agency reported.

The S&P 500 rose 2.54 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 2,584.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.66 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 6,757.60.

The market had rallied to record highs amid renewed expectations that the US Congress, along with the Donald Trump administration, would be able to move forward with tax reform in 2017.

However, rising concerns emerged after the Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a plan to overhaul the US tax code that contains key differences from a comparable House tax plan.

The Senate bill would delay a corporate tax rate cut from 35 per cent to 20 per cent until 2019, denting investors' hope for a new tax plan before the end of this year.

Republicans in the US House of Representatives announced earlier this month the long-awaited bill to overhaul the US tax code in decades by significantly cutting individual and corporate income taxes.

It would reduce the number of personal income tax brackets from seven to four, while keeping the top individual income tax rate at 39.6 per cent. It would also cut the corporate income tax rate to 20 per cent from 35 per cent.

--IANS

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