U.S. stocks open mixed on tax reform expectation

NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened mixed on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor the progress in the country's tax reform.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 34.62 points, or 0.14 percent, to 24,324.67. The S&P 500 decreased 2.78 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,639.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 10.19 points, or 0.15 percent, to 6,785.56.

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. They are hoping to send the final legislation to President Donald Trump before Christmas.

Analysts said market sentiment was boosted by the prospect of the tax bill, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record highs on Monday.

In corporate news, shares of Bank of America jumped more than one percent in the premarket after the bank announced it would buy back additional five billion U.S. dollars in stock. The repurchase will take place through June 2018. Enditem