WASHINGTON: US stocks rallied on Tuesday with political drama in Washington fading and reports that Donald Trump’s administration is making progress in drafting a overhaul of the US tax system. The S&P 500 finished the day 1 per cent higher at 2,452.51, led by a 1.5 per cent rally in technology stocks. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 per cent to 21,899.89 for its best day since April. The Nasdaq Composite surged 1.4 per cent to 6,297.48 — clocking its biggest one-day gain in nearly two months. Hopes for progress on tax reform following a report from Politico earlier in the day helped drive the gains. Hopes for an overhaul of current tax policy was one of the biggest drivers of the stock-market rally after Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, but political drama in Washington had raised concerns that Mr Trump would be unable to deliver on his pro-growth agenda.
The rally also came as recent tensions in Washington — stemming from heated verbal exchanges with North Korea on its nuclear arsenal, the deadly protests in Charlottesville, along with the revolving door in Mr Trump’s administration — appeared to wane. The risk-on trade also curbed appetite for haven assets, with the yield on the US 10-year Treasury rising 3.3 basis points to 2.215 per cent. Yields move inversely to prices. Meanwhile, gold declined 0.5 per cent to $1,285.06 a troy ounce.