U.S. stocks decline after Congress passes tax bill

NEW YORK, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks slid on Wednesday as the U.S. Congress passed a revised Republican bill to overhaul the U.S. tax code over three decades.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 28.10 points, or 0.11 percent, to 24,726.65. The S&P 500 lost 2.22 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,679.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.89 points, or 0.04 percent, to 6,960.96.

The House voted 224-201 to approve the 1.5-trillion-U.S. dollar package, which would impact nearly every part of the world's largest economy, affecting both large and small businesses, as well as families.

The House passed the tax bill Tuesday afternoon, but the Senate's parliamentarian found several provisions in the bill violated budget rules, forcing lawmakers to strip them out and requiring the House to vote again.

The Senate narrowly passed the revised bill Tuesday midnight with a vote of 51-48. Now the bill, without the support of a single Democrat in Congress, will be sent to President Donald Trump's desk for signature within days and to take effect in 2018.

On the economic front, U.S. existing-home sales surged for the third straight month in November and reached their strongest pace in almost 11 years, according to the National Association of Realtors Wednesday.

U.S. total existing-home sales jumped 5.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.81 million in November from an upwardly revised 5.50 million in October.

Meanwhile, tech shares fell on Wednesday, as traders have been taking profits from tech sector recently. Enditem