Investing.com – The rally in U.S. stocks continued unabated as investors cheered data suggesting that the U.S. economy remains on track for a strong quarter of growth while hopes of tax reformed grew after the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 22776.70. The S&P 500 closed 0.56% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6585.36, up 0.78%.
US stocks started the session on the front foot following a duo of economic reports pointing to the strength in the economy.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 60,000 for the week ended Sept. 30, beating forecasts of a 7,000 decline.
The trade deficit — which measures the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports — narrowed to $42.4 billion in August, down $1.2 billion from July. Exports in the August were $195.3 billion, while imports came to $237.7 billion.
On the political front, investor hopes of tax reform grew as the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives approved by a 219-206 vote a fiscal 2018 spending blueprint.
Republicans are aiming to pass tax cuts through what is known as budget reconciliation, a legislative tool allowing them to bypass Democrats and pass a tax bill by simple majority vote in the Senate, where they hold a 52 seat majority.
The rally in US stocks comes a day before the Labor Market Department releases its nonfarm payrolls report. Economists forecast 100,000 jobs were created in the previous month.
On the corporate front, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) looks set to disrupt the delivery industry following a Bloomberg report suggesting that the tech giant is trying out a new delivery program called “Seller Flex”.
The company will pick up packages from third-party sellers selling on its platform and deliver the products to customers.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) up 2.4%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) up 1.7% and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) up 1.3%
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) down 1.3%, Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) down 0.4% and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) down 0.4%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.