1st LD: U.S. stocks jump ahead of tax bill release

NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher Friday, with all three major indices closing at record highs, as investors awaited details of a Republican tax bill that is expected to be released later on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 143.08 points, or 0.58 percent, to 24,651.74. The S&P 500 added 23.80 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,675.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 80.06 points, or 1.17 percent, to 6,936.58.

A last-minute increase to the child tax credit is the latest addition to the Republicans' bill set to be unveiled later Friday, in a move that may secure votes for the plan after key senators wavered, according to the Market Watch.

House and Senate Republicans are planning to pass a package next week, with major elements including lower corporate and top individual tax rates.

Corporate earnings also came out positive. Shares of Costco surged 3.32 percent to 192.73 U.S. dollars apiece Friday as the U.S. retailer posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

After Thursday's closing bell, Costco reported a net income of 640 million dollars, or 1.45 dollars per diluted share, for the fiscal first quarter of 2018, compared to 545 million dollars, or 1.24 dollars per diluted share, for the same period last year.

On the economic front, U.S. industrial production moved up 0.2 percent in November after posting an upwardly revised increase of 1.2 percent in October, the Federal Reserve announced Friday. The latest figure missed market forecast of a 0.3-percent gain.

Meanwhile, business activity continued to grow at a solid clip in New York State, according to firms responding to the December 2017 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index came at 18.0, which remained close to last month's level. Enditem