Wall Street closes higher on solid data and tax reform expectations
After starting the day slightly lower, major equity indexes in the U.S. closed the day with as today's data from the U.S. pointed to a strengthening economy. Moreover, US President Donald Trump gave a speech about the tax reform, improving the market sentiment in the second half of the session.
The preliminary GBP growth for the second quarter of 2017 was revised up to 3% from 2.6% today. The report revealed that the solid consumer spending and strong business investment were the primary drivers behind the increasing economic activity. Furthermore, the ADP report showed that the U.S. private-sector employers hired 237,000 workers in August, beating the market estimate and recording the biggest monthly increase since March.
Commenting on the data, “I have doubts how sustainable the macro economy is, but perceived fundamentals are still okay. GDP confirmed that, You can come up with plenty excuses to remain (invested) in the market,” John Velis, macro strategist at State Street Global Markets in Boston, told Reuters.
In his speech in Springfield, Missouri, Trump said that they were looking to bring the business tax rate down to 15%, and assured that his administration would work closely with the Congress to get it done.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.06 points, or 0.12%, to 21,879.93, the S&P 500 added 8.88 points, or 0.36%, to 2,456.7 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 66.42 points, or 1.05%, to 6,368.31.
Headlines from the U.S. session:
- Russia’s Lavrov: Further increase of sanction pressure on N. Korea is dangerous
- Expect another strong month of employment - Nomura
- US Pres. Trump: Would like to bring business tax rate down to 15%
- US Pres. Trump: Many regulations are unnecessary
- Dollar Index extends gains, eyes 93.00
- Dollar downtrend to continue? - Nomura
- Texas Governor Abbot: Major flooding to continue in Beaumont and other areas for a few more days
- Atlanta Fed: GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth in Q3 is 3.4%
- Morgan Stanley trims U.S. Q3 GDP growth view to 2.5% - Reuters
- US: Private sector employment increased by 237,000 jobs in August
- US: Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.0% in second quarter of 2017