US open: Stocks continue to barrel higher on tax cut hopes

Wall Street continued to push higher at a furious pace amid greater optimism over the likelihood of US tax reforms and the potential impact they might have on stocks.

At 1721 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.28% or 304.19 points higher to 24,245.85, alongside a gain of 0.99% or 26.09 points for the S&P 500 to 2,652.64, while the Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 0.84% to 6,880.95.

Investors were awaiting a final vote on the Republicans' tax bill, which could take place on Thursday evening.

Commenting on the tax reform proposals making their way through the US Senate, economists at Oxford Economics said: "The Senate is on track to pass its version of tax reform later today or Friday. The next step would be to reconcile differences with the House version passed earlier this month. Tax reform has gained momentum and we think the odds that legislation will pass before year end have increased to 60-70%.

"One possible wrinkle: at least one key Republican vote may hinge on passage of legislation to shore up the Affordable Care Act."

In parallel, front month Brent crude oil futures were 0.54% higher to $63.43 a barrel as OPEC members agreed on maintaining their current reduced output until the end of 2018.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "Wednesday’s tech selloff is doing little to weigh on risk appetite ahead of the open on Thursday, with futures on all three major indices around a third of a percentage point higher, tracking broad gains in Europe.

"With US indices trading around record highs it seems investors are currently willing to shrug off Wednesday’s declines some of the biggest tech names, putting it down to profit taking rather than a sign of any underlying concerns given the already extended levels. With plenty of economic data to come today including income, spending and inflation - the Fed’s preferred measure - as well as appearances from Federal Reserve officials, this positive risk appetite may well be put to the test at times."

In corporate news, Juniper Networks was sharply lower after Finnish network equipment maker Nokia said it was not in talks about buying its California-based rival.

Elsewhere, Sears shares were in focus after the department store chain reported a narrowing of fiscal third-quarter losses.