US stocks mixed as tax bill hopes offset health setback

New York - US stocks finished mixed again, shrugging off early weakness as investors welcomed President Donald Trump's efforts to pivot to tax reform after flopping on health policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2% to 20 550.98 to decline for the eighth straight session, the longest such losing streak since 2011.

The broad-based S&P 500 loss 0.1% at 2 341.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2% to 5 840.37,

Trump administration officials since Friday have begun talking up tax cuts, by far Wall Street's top priority in his agenda because of its capacity to boost corporate profits.

US stocks opened sharply lower on doubts about Trump's ability to advance tax cuts after Friday's surprise demise of the health bill. But US stocks moved gradually higher through the session.

"It's doing a lot better than I had originally expected it to be doing," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

Technology shares were generally strong, with Tesla Motors gaining 2.7%, Netflix 1.4% and Priceline 1.1%.

Hospital stocks HCA and Universal Health Services rose 5.1% and 3.2%, respectively, as the chance of a major overhaul threatening federal programs key to their businesses subsided.

Dow Chemical climbed 1.5% and DuPont 1.3% as European Union antitrust authorities approved the $130bn merger of the two companies, provided DuPont sells "major parts" of its global pesticides business.

Large banks, which rallied after Trump's election, continued to give back some of their gains. Morgan Stanley shed 2.1%, Goldman Sachs 1.4% and Wells Fargo 0.7%.