While you were sleeping: Wall Street slides as tax bill passes Congress

Wall Street rose then fell after the Republican tax reform bill passed Congress and is set to deliver corporate tax cuts that will bolster profits including for FedEx.

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 28.10 points, or 0.1%, to 24,726.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index eased two points to 6960.96, as did the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to 2679.25.

"The tax reform passing, you'd expect the market to celebrate that," Kevin Caron, a senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, told Bloomberg. "But in reality a lot of this has already been part of the drama over the last year or so in anticipation of this moment. The market has gotten what it has already been discounting in."

Shares of FedEx rallied 3.4% after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and lifted its full-year earnings outlook.

FedEx also said the US tax overhaul bill could boost its 2018 earnings by an estimated $US4.40-5.50 per share.

"Strategic execution by the FedEx team and a stronger global economy drove improved financial results, and we are well positioned for profitable, long-term growth," Frederick Smith, FedEx chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We are on track for another record holiday-shipping season."

General Mills improves
General Mills rose 0.9% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and upgraded its full-year sales outlook, bolstered by US appetite for its cereal and snacks.

Revenue increased 2% to $US4.2 billion in the second quarter, while gross margins fell 2.6 percentage points to 34.4%, the company said in a statement.

"We do not think most investors expected a sales beat to this degree, nor did many investors anticipate a revenue guidance raise quite yet ... we expect the better sales numbers to win the day," JP Morgan analyst Ken Goldman wrote in a note, according to Reuters.

"Though fundamentals were a bit better than expected, they are not yet 'good', by our read, and much depends on a significant improvement in 2H."

In the latest US economic data, A National Association of Realtors report showed existing-home sales jumped 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.81 million in November from an upwardly revised 5.50 million in October. Sales are at their strongest pace since December 2006.

"Faster economic growth in recent quarters, the booming stock market and continuous job gains are fuelling substantial demand for buying a home as 2017 comes to an end," Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in the report.

"As evidenced by a subdued level of first-time buyers and increased share of cash buyers, move-up buyers with considerable down payments and those with cash made up a bulk of the sales activity last month," Yun noted. "The odds of closing on a home are much better at the upper end of the market, where inventory conditions continue to be markedly better."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.7%. The UK's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.3%, France's CAC 40 Index slid 0.6% and Germany's DAX Index dropped 1.1%.

(BusinessDesk)