World stock markets up as US tax plan vote draws near

Top world stock markets climbed to record highs on Monday as US Republican lawmakers moved closer to passing a tax plan, while the dollar slid on concerns about the Bill's impact on economic growth and interest rates.

Leading Republicans said they expected Congress to vote as early as Tuesday on the Bill, which would become the biggest US tax code overhaul in more than three decades if approved. President Donald Trump is aiming to sign the plan into law at the end of the week.

Wall Street's leading indices struck all-time highs in early trading ahead of a potential vote, which would lower the corporate income tax rate to 21 per cent from 35 per cent.

"The market is going to continue its rally based on the belief that we're going to see the Congress pass tax reform," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183.5 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 24,835.24, the S&P 500 gained 17.09 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 2,692.9 and the Nasdaq Composite added 58.03 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 6,994.61 The benchmark MSCI World index, which tracks stocks around the globe, gained 0.97 percent to a record high.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 1.19 per cent. Meanwhile, the dollar index fell 0.39 percent after initially inching up following the tax plan's latest advancement.

US currency traders began to speculate how impactful the pro-growth bill could be and whether it would accelerate interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve, above the two currently anticipated by the market. The euro was up 0.44 per cent to $1.1804.

The greenback's weakening propelled gold higher as the dollar-denominated bullion became cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

Spot gold added 0.6 per cent to $1,262.52 an ounce. US gold futures gained 0.67 per cent to $1,265.90 an ounce.