U.S. stocks post weekly gains amid Fed rate hikes, tax bill

NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks witnessed solid gains for the week, as investors digested the Federal Reserve's decision to hike interest rates while anticipating details of a Republican tax bill.

For the week, the blue-chip Dow added 1.3 percent, and the broader S&P 500 increased 0.9 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.4 percent.

The Fed meeting was in the spotlight during the week. After the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, the Fed announced Wednesday afternoon that in view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the central bank decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1.25 to 1.50 percent.

"This change highlights that the (Federal Open Market) Committee expects the labor market to remain strong, with sustained job creation, ample opportunities for workers and rising wages," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday at her last press conference before her four-year term ends early next year.

In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Fed will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation.

The central bank officials still envisioned three more rate hikes in 2018, unchanged from their forecast in September, according to the latest quarterly projections released on Wednesday.

The central bank also raised its GDP estimate from 2.1 percent in September to 2.5 percent.

Meanwhile, investors kept a close eye on progress of the country's tax reform. 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.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Friday morning: "I think that we are going to be in a position to pass something as early as next week, which will be monumental."

On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers rose 0.4 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, in line with market consensus. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.2 percent.

U.S. industrial production moved up 0.2 percent in November after posting an upwardly revised increase of 1.2 percent in October. The latest figure missed market forecast of a 0.3-percent gain.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November 2017 were 492.7 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 0.8 percent from the previous month and well above market consensus of 0.3 percent.

In the week ending Dec. 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 236,000.

The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.4 percent in November, seasonally adjusted, beating market consensus of a 0.3-percent gain.

The number of job openings was little changed at 6.0 million on the last business day of October. Enditem