Markets Right Now: US stock indexes close mostly lower
By The Associated Press, Associated Press
Dec 20, 2017 3:08 PM CST

The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

4 p.m.

Stock indexes are closing mostly lower on Wall Street after bouncing around for much of the day.

Health care companies and banks fell Wednesday. Drugmaker Pfizer fell 1.3 percent.

Small-company stocks, which stand to benefit most from lower corporate tax rates, rose after Congress passed the Republican-sponsored tax bill.

FedEx jumped 3.5 percent after raising its annual profit forecast.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,679.

The Dow Jones industrials fell 28 points, or 0.1 percent, to 24,726. The Nasdaq composite slipped 2 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 6,960.

The Russell 2000 of smaller-company stocks rose 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,540.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.49 percent.

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11:45 a.m.

Stocks are drifting mostly higher on Wall Street in midday trading, led by gains in energy and industrial companies.

Small-company stocks were doing better than the rest of the market Wednesday. Those companies would benefit more than others from lower corporate tax rates that are on the verge of being passed in Congress.

Halliburton rose 2.7 percent. Chipmaker Micron jumped 4.4 percent after reporting strong results, and FedEx climbed 2.7 percent after its own results came in ahead of analysts' forecasts.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose a fraction of a point to 2,682.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 24,771. The Nasdaq composite slipped 9 points, or 0.1 percent, 6,954.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.47 percent.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street, led by gains in banks and industrial companies.

JPMorgan Chase rose 0.8 percent in early trading Wednesday.

The gains came after the Senate passed the Republican-backed tax bill.

Chipmaker Micron jumped 4.7 percent after reporting strong quarterly results, and FedEx climbed 2.7 percent after its own results came in well ahead of analysts' forecasts.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 8 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,689.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 71 points, or 0.3 percent, to 24,823. The Nasdaq gained 22 points, or 0.3 percent, 6,987.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.49 percent.