Major US stock markets closed below zero, as investors were waiting for news about the fate of the long-awaited tax bill

According to the latest information, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed a tax bill in the United States. For the adoption of the tax bill in the US Congress, 224 votes were given, against - 201 votes. The tax bill provides for tax cuts totaling $ 1.5 trillion in the next 10 years

Investors also analyzed data on the United States. The National Association of Realtors said that home sales in the secondary market rose for the third consecutive month in November and reached the highest rates in the last 11 years. In all major regions, except for the West, there was a significant increase in sales activity. Total secondary home sales, which are completed transactions, including single-family homes, urban homes, condominiums and cooperatives, jumped 5.6%, seasonally adjusted to 5.81 million in November from 5.50 million in October. After last month's growth, sales rose 3.8% compared to the same period last year, and they reached the highest levels since December 2006 (6.42 million).

Quotes of oil rose by about 1%, supported by the continued downtime of the Forties oil pipeline in the North Sea, as well as by statistics on oil reserves in the US. The Energy Ministry reported that oil reserves fell sharply last week, which was caused by an increase in the workload of oil refineries. In the week of December 9-15, oil reserves fell by 6.495 million barrels, to 436.491 million barrels. Analysts had expected a decline of 3.769 million barrels.

Most components of the DOW index finished trading in the red (19 out of 30). Outsider were shares of The Walt Disney Company (DIS, -1.65%). The leader of growth were the shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO, + 1.20%).

Most sectors of the S & P index recorded a decline. The largest drop was shown by the utilities sector (-0.4%). The conglomerate sector grew most (+ 1.2%).

At closing:

DJIA -0.11% 24,726.65 -28.10

Nasdaq -0.04% 6,960.96 -2.89

S & P -0.08% 2,679.25 -2.22

U.S. stock-index futures were higher on Wednesday after the U.S. Senate approved the tax-reform bill in a 51-48 party line vote, taking President Donald Trump closer to his first major legislative victory.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 22,891.72 +23.72 +0.10%

Hang Seng 29,234.09 -19.57 -0.07%

Shanghai 3,287.61 -8.93 -0.27%

S&P/ASX 6,075.60 +3.80 +0.06%

FTSE 7,545.34 +1.25 +0.02%

CAC 5,369.72 -13.19 -0.25%

DAX 13,178.99 -36.80 -0.28%

Crude $57.85 (+0.50%)

Gold $1,269.00 (+0.38%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Twitter (TWTR) target raised to $30 from $25 at Argus

Alcoa (AA) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse

FedEx (FDX) reported Q2 FY 2018 earnings of $3.18 per share (versus $2.80 in Q2 FY 2017), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $2.88.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $16.300 bln (+9.4% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $15.670 bln.

The company also issued upside guidance for FY 2018, projecting EPS of $12.70-13.30 versus analysts' consensus estimate of $12.46.

FDX rose to $247.42 (+2.01%) in pre-market trading.

European stocks closed lower on Tuesday as traders weighed up rising optimism that U.S. tax cuts will win passage this week against a disappointing reading on German business sentiment.

U.S. stock-market indexes closed slightly lower Tuesday as the House of Representatives, as expected, passed a bill that would deliver sweeping corporate tax cuts. The process hit a procedural snag after U.S. markets closed, however, which will force the House to vote again on the package Wednesday.

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday after US benchmarks dipped, with investors awaiting the final votes on US tax-cut legislation. Bond yields climbed amid focus on the outlook for increased supply in 2018, with less central bank buying. Japanese equity benchmarks saw small gains, while those in Seoul and Sydney were flat.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei -33.77 22868.00 -0.15%

TOPIX -2.72 1815.18 -0.15%

Hang Seng +203.25 29253.66 +0.70%

CSI 300 +50.04 4035.33 +1.26%

Euro Stoxx 50 -27.20 3582.22 -0.75%

FTSE 100 +7.08 7544.09 +0.09%

DAX -96.51 13215.79 -0.72%

CAC 40 -37.67 5382.91 -0.69%

DJIA -37.45 24754.75 -0.15%

S&P 500 -8.69 2681.47 -0.32%

NASDAQ -30.91 6963.85 -0.44%

S&P/TSX +1.71 16133.35 +0.01%