U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with the Dow industrials ending a four-day losing streak and the small-cap Russell 2000 notching a record close as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans touted a sweeping tax overhaul. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.25% rose 56.39 points, or 0.3%, to end at 22,340.71, erasing an earlier loss. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.41% rose 10.2 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,507.04, less than 0.1% from a record close set last week.

European stocks advanced for a fifth straight session on Wednesday, with banks rising on expectations of higher U.S. interest rates and Alstom shares rallying after its rail merger with Siemens. The Stoxx Europe Index SXXP, +0.41% added 0.4% to end at 385.62, marking its highest close since July 17, according to FactSet data.

Asian equities lacked direction early Thursday, with rising bond yields boosting finance stocks in Japan and Australia, though Chinese markets experienced selling pressure ahead of a week-long holiday. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +0.50% pared early gains and was last up 0.3%, recovering from Wednesday's declines when companies paid dividends. The gains also come as the yen continued to pull back, with the U.S. dollar marking a 2½-month high in late New York trade.