US stocks surged to new record highs amid investor expectations that the final version of the GOP tax bill will be released on Friday evening.
The S&P 500 soared 0.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.6% and the more tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index climbed 1.2%.
First up, the scoreboard:
- Dow: 24,651.74, +143.08, (+0.58%)
- S&P 500: 2,675.81, +23.80, (+0.90%)
- Nasdaq: 6,936.58, +80.06, (+1.17%)
- US 10-year yield: 2.36%, +0.009
- WTI crude oil: $57.35, +$0.31, +0.54%
1. JPMorgan’s quant guru says traders are waiting for tax cuts to unleash more stock market gains. Marko Kolanovic, the firm’s global head of quantitative and derivatives strategy, says a successful Republican tax overhaul will give equities a huge shot in the arm in 2018.
2. A photo from the CEO of Goldman Sachs is fueling Twitter takeover chatter. The company's stock surged as much as 7.3% on Thursday, closing at its highest level in 14 months, amid speculation that Twitter and Goldman are re-engaging in discussions around a sale to Disney.
3. Oracle tops Wall Street targets - but shares sink more than 4%. The company reported strong quarterly earnings after the closing bell on Thursday afternoon, beating revenue and profit estimates.
4. Bitcoin pops to new all-time high. The red-hot cryptocurrency reached a new record versus the dollar, and has been steadily recovering ground after falling as low as $13,000 on Sunday.
5. Facebook admits that social media can be bad for you. In a blog post published on Friday, Facebook addressed a "hard question": "Is spending time on social media bad for us?"
ADDITIONALLY:
Corker and Rubio reverse course, and the GOP tax bill now looks like a slam dunk to pass
Walmart and Amazon's long-simmering feud exploded in 2017 - and it's redefining retail
Ripple hires Facebook communications manager after its cryptocurrency triples in a week
There's a lot to learn about bitcoin from looking at the tulip bulb bubble
TOP TECH ANALYST: Only one thing could stop the FANGs from skyrocketing in 2018