US stock indexes rose on Thursday, boosted by bank and energy stocks as investors bet on more economically sensitive sectors.
Energy and financial stocks led gains among the 11 major S&P sectors. Financials have gained 21 per cent this year, compared with a 20 per cent gain for the S&P 500.
Chevron shares jumped 3.3 per cent. The shares earlier touched a record high of $125.35, after broker Cowen & Co raised its price target on the stock by nearly a third to $160.
The US Congress approved a $1.5-trillion tax bill this week that will slash corporate income tax rates to 21 per cent from 35 per cent, according to Reuters.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.64 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 24,782.29, the S&P 500 gained 5.32 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 2,684.57 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.40 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 6,965.36.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.54-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.60-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
Volume so far on US exchanges was 6.08 billion shares, compared to the 6.88 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
