US: Dow, S&P 500 end at records as infrastructure bill advances

[NEW YORK] The Dow and S&P 500 ended at fresh records on Tuesday as industrial companies and commodities producers advanced following Senate passage of a US$1.2 trillion infrastructure package.

In a victory for President Joe Biden, the Senate approved the sweeping package in a bipartisan vote. The measure now faces a make-or-break vote in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks, where its future is less certain as divisions have sprung up in the Democratic majority.

But investors took bets Tuesday on companies expected to garner a share of the business from the push to upgrade America's roads, bridges and broadband. This includes industrial giant Caterpillar as well as metals producers US Steel and Alcoa.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 per cent to 35,264.67, overtaking a record from last Friday by 55 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 increased 0.1 per cent to 4,436.75, edging out the prior record by less than a point, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.5 per cent to 14,788.09.

Passage of the infrastructure bill helped offset worries about the Delta variant of Covid-19, which has begun to strain hospital capacity in some states.

Among individual companies, Kansas City Southern jumped 7.4 per cent after rival freight rail company Canadian Pacific raised its bid to acquire the company, reviving a takeover battle with Canadian National Railway.

The latest bid represents an enterprise value of around US$31 billion. Canadian Pacific dipped 0.7 per cent.

AFP