Stocks- U.S. Futures Push Forward as Tax Bill Set for Final Vote
Investing.com – Wall Street was set to open higher on Wednesday as Congress is expected to vote on the final passage of the biggest tax overhaul in 30 years.
The S&P 500 futures rose seven points or 0.29% as of 6:46 AM ET (11:46 GMT) while Dow futures increased 78 points or 0.31%. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up over 22 points or 0.35%.
Congress is expected to vote on the tax reform bill again on Wednesday, after lawmakers violated a Senate procedural measure. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that if the bill is approved, there will be a White House news conference at approximately 1:00 PM ET (18:00 GMT).
The tax bill would cut corporate taxes to 21% from 35%, which some say would encourage companies to spend more, boosting the economy.
Semiconductor Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) was among the biggest gainers in pre-market trading, rising 6.64% after a strong first quarter earnings release. Meanwhile beer maker Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (NYSE:BUD) increased 0.74% while IT firm Gridsum Holding Inc (NASDAQ:GSUM) was up 15.38% and On Track Innovations Ltd (NASDAQ:OTIV) gained 4.84%.
Elsewhere banking firm Santander (MC:SAN) was down 1.20% while steel company ArcelorMittal SA ADR (NYSE:MT) dipped 0.33% and nutrient firm Evogene (NASDAQ:EVGN) fell 3.48%.
In Europe stocks were down. Germany’s DAX fell 53 points or 0.41% while in France the CAC 40 decreased 21 points or 0.40% and in London, the FTSE 100 inched down eight points or 0.11%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was down 16 points or 0.46% while Spain’s IBEX 35 lost 86 points or 0.84%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.39% to $1,269.10 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.30% to $57.73 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.02% to 93.03.
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