Wall Street ends at record highs as banks lead gains

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street closed higher for a second consecutive day Tuesday with two of the three major indexes ending at record levels as rising Treasury bond yields lifted bank shares.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier in the day that President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to pass its much-anticipated tax reform before the end of this year.

Mnuchin also said the government is considering backdating tax reform to Jan. 1, 2017, a move that would boost earnings of U.S. companies through tax cuts.

Shares of Bank of America and Goldman Sachs jumped 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Citigroup rose 1.6 percent, while Morgan Stanley increased 1.3 percent.

As a result, the Dow added 61 points to close at 22,118.

The S&P rose 8 points to 2,496, while the Nasdaq added 22 points to 6,454. Both indexes closed at all-time highs.

Investors also focused on Apple Inc.’s announcements of new phones in the afternoon, with the company’s shares ending 0.42% lower following wild fluctuations.