The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up to record intraday highs on Monday, after President Donald Trump's said he would make a "big" statement on infrastructure on Tuesday. In a meeting with state governors on Monday, Trump said his administration would be "moving quickly" on regulatory reforms and that his tax plan would be released after a proposal on Obamacare.
Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening is being closely watched by investors for clues on how he planned to carry out his agenda of boosting economic growth. "If we have a market that is willing to accept a roadmap that says we are going to repeal and replace Affordable Care Act and then have some form of tax reform by the August recess, I think the market will continue to be supportive," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Equity Capital Markets in New York.
Trump's promise a few weeks ago of a "phenomenal" tax announcement helped rekindle a post-election rally, driving the main US markets to record highs. But with details scant on how he planned to implement his agenda, investors have turned wary and the markets have traded range-bound.
The Dow hit its 11th straight record close on Friday, even though the index has not moved more than 1 percent in either direction since December 7. At 11:02 am ET (1702 GMT) the Dow was up 6.69 points, or 0.03 percent, at 20,828.45. The S&P 500 was up 0.84 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,368.18 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.56 points, or 0.04 percent, at 5,847.87. Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with gains in energy and financials helping counter losses in consumer staples.
Among stocks, electric carmaker Tesla fell nearly 4 percent to $246.42 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company's stock to "sell" from "neutral" and lowered its price target. La Jolla Pharmaceutical surged 75 percent to $34.79 following the success of its lead experimental drug in a late-stage study. Shutterstock dropped 13.4 percent to $44.73 after the stock image provider reported quarterly revenue that missed analysts' average estimate. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,785 to 1,001. On the Nasdaq, 1,623 issues rose and 1,047 fell. The S&P 500 index showed 50 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 91 new highs and 33 new lows.
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