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NEW YORK, March 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded sharply higher in the morning session Wednesday as Wall Street cheered over President Donald Trump's speech to Congress delivered Tuesday night.
By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 273.02 points, or 1.31 percent, to 21,085.26. The S&P 500 leapt 31.97 points, or 1.35 percent, to 2,395.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 73.50 points, or 1.26 percent, to 5,898.94.
Investor euphoria was ignited by Trump's economic plans, which he described in his first address to a joint session of Congress. He outlined plans for a 1-trillion-U.S.-dollar infrastructure investment, health care reform, immigration reform and tax relief for businesses and the middle class, according to the CNBC.
Meanwhile, it is widely thought that Trump's address to the Congress was fairly conventional and delivered a desire to move past the turmoil and partisan division rampant in his first month in the White House.
Some analysts believed that the absence of protectionist comments as well as overall tone that was perceived as "presidential" instilled confidence among investors, sending equity markets higher.
On the economic front, U.S. personal income increased 63 billion dollars, or 0.4 percent, in January, beating market consensus of 0.3 percent, said the Commerce Department. Personal income increased 3.6 percent in 2016, compared with an increase of 4.4 percent in 2015.
Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing activity in February accelerated to the fastest pace since August 2014, a sign of growing momentum for the economy.
The manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index (PMI), registered 57.7 in February, an increase of 1.7 points from the previous month, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said in a report on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks declined Tuesday, with the Dow snapping a 12-day winning streak, as investors meditated on the latest revision to the country's fourth-quarter economic growth. Enditem
