S&P500 Futures Extend Record Highs on Trump Tax Talk
New York (Feb 11) US stocks extended record highs on Friday, as markets cheered President Donald Trump’s promise of “phenomenal” tax reform in the not-so-distant future.
The large-cap S&P 500 Index advanced 8.23 points, or 0.4%, to close at a new record high of 2,316.10. It was the index’s second consecutive record close, bringing its year-to-date return to 3.5%.
S&P 500 futures traded higher throughout the day and were up 0.4% by the end of New York trading.
Ten of 11 S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by a 0.9% gain in materials stocks. Shares of energy companies and industrial stocks rose at least 0.7%.
Commodity-sensitive sectors were supported by a large rally in the oil prices after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said OPEC was following through on its November pledge to reduce crude output. The international energy agency also raised its outlook on global crude demand in 2017.
U.S. crude futures climbed 1.5% to $53.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
All of Wall Street’s major averages ended at record highs on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 20,269.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3% to close at 5,734.13.
A measure of investor anxiety known as the CBOE VIX settled near multi-year lows on Friday. Wall Street’s preferred volatility gauge has declined more than 22% on the year, a sign the post-election rally was still running strong.
The markets were buzzing on talk of major tax reform from the new Republican administration in the coming weeks. President Trump told U.S. executives on Thursday his team was preparing a “phenomenal” tax plan aimed at helping American businesses. During the campaign, the Republican leader said he would use tax reform to encourage U.S. multinationals to repatriate profits.
Last week, Trump spurred a large equities rally after issuing an executive order to begin reviewing the Dodd-Frank Act, Washington’s principal response to the financial crisis.
Source: EconomicCalendar
