Solid gains across-the-board the major US indices, which all closed near their session highs albeit overall trading volumes remain relatively light (i.e. trading volume on the S&P500 was ~15% below the 20-day moving average) - Dow jumped +196-points or +0.90% and the broader S&P500 +0.99% (its biggest single session advance since 14 August). NASDAQ +1.36%. Equity markets received a boost from a report on website Politico suggesting that the White House and Republicans are making progress on tax legislation or on at least a repatriation plan that would involve infrastructure spending. Republican house speaker Paul Ryan also expressed confidence that tax reforms will be delivered, saying he believed that "it's going to be far easier for us to do tax reform than it was, say, for healthcare reform." Separately, President Trump also changed his stance on Afghanistan in observing that a swift US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan would create a "vacuum" that terrorists would "instantly fill."
