Industrials Up On Tax Bets -- Industrials Roundup

Shares of manufacturing and transportation companies rose as traders bet the likely passage of a tax bill will bolster economic growth.

Jeffrey Pavlik, founder of hedge fund firm Pavlik Capital Management, said the likelihood of economic acceleration depends on how two variables play out. "I think, one, you're going to have to see the details of the tax plan," said Mr. Pavlik. "And, two...Mr. Trump is going to move forward with some of his other agendas and one of those is clearly infrastructure. It will be very interesting to see if he follows up on that."

An Amtrak train derailed on a new track in Washington state, killing six people and wounding many more. In the aftermath of the tragedy, President Donald Trump tweeted that the accident "shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly."

Freight railroad CSX remained lower after newly installed Chief Executive Hunter Harrison passed away. But shares of CSX are much higher than they were when activist investor Paul Hilal started agitating for the hiring of Mr. Harrison a year ago.

--Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2017 16:25 ET (21:25 GMT)