US: S&P 500 edges to record as markets eye Trump tax plan

[NEW YORK] US stocks finished slightly higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 edging to a new record, as initial euphoria about President Donald Trump's tax plan began to ebb.

Stocks rallied on Wednesday as Mr Trump and Republican leaders released a long-awaited outline of a proposal to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent as part of a broader overhaul of the system.

Analysts were heartened by the fact that Mr Trump has worked more closely with Republican congressional leaders than on the failed health care reform they attempted. But there is still a long way to go before the tax proposal becomes law, said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

"Today people are realising this is going to be hard work," he said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.2 per cent at 22,381.20.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.1 per cent to 2,510.06, topping the previous all-time high by almost two points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq was essentially unchanged at 6,453.45.

Dow member Chevron climbed 0.2 per cent after announcing it tapped longtime executive Michael Wirth as chief executive and chairman, effective in February and replacing John Watson.

Cereal giant Kellogg lost 0.4 per cent after announcing that Steven Cahillane will take over as chief executive, replacing John Bryant, who is retiring. Mr Cahillane has worked as chief executive of Nature's Bounty, which makes vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Media shares were broadly lower, with Disney losing 1.2 per cent, Comcast 1.8 per cent and 21st Century Fox 2.8 per cent.

AFP