NEW YORK, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday amid rising expectation for a tax reform in the country.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 165.59 points, or 0.71 percent, to 23,328.63. The S&P 500 gained 13.11 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,575.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.99 points, or 0.36 percent, to 6,629.05.
The U.S. Senate approved a budget of four trillion U.S. dollars on Thursday, taking a crucial step toward Republicans' goal of passing a tax plan this year.
Expectations for corporate tax cuts had increased recently, sending U.S. stocks to record highs, with the Dow breaking the 23,000-threhold for the first time earlier this week.
Traders also kept an eye on the earnings reports on Friday.
General Electric (GE) reported adjusted third-quarter profit of 29 cents per share, missing market estimates of 49 cents per share. The company also cut its full-year outlook. Shares of GE increased 1.06 percent to close at 23.83 U.S. dollars.
According to consulting company Earnings Scout, this earnings season has gotten off to a good start, about 80 percent of companies that have reported beating on the bottom line, while over 70 percent have topped sales estimates.
