U.S. stocks trade mixed after Senate passing tax bill

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded mixed on Monday on news that the Senate narrowly passing a major tax bill over the weekend.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 212.15 points, or 0.88 percent, to 24,443.74. The S&P 500 increased 10.03 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,652.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 25.96 points, or 0.38 percent, to 6,821.63.

The U.S. Senate on Saturday morning narrowly passed the Republican bill to overhaul the tax code in decades, moving one step closer to the first major legislative victory of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.

The House of Representatives had passed its own version of tax reform legislation last month, which contained significant differences from the Senate version.

Republicans currently plan to convene a conference in the next few weeks to reconcile the House and Senate versions.

Overhauling the tax code is a top priority of Republicans and they are hoping to send the final legislation to President Donald Trump before Christmas.

Analysts said market sentiment was overall boosted by the prospect of the tax bill and investors will look closely to see progress between the House and Senate's joint bill later this week.

In corporate news, CVS Health Corporation and Aetna Inc. on Sunday announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which CVS Health will acquire all outstanding shares of Aetna for a 69-billion-U.S.-dollar combination of cash and stock. Shares of CVS slipped 5 percent around midday on Monday. Enditem