MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stocks Eke Out Gains As Investors Await Clarity On Tax Plan

GE tumbles to 5-year low after dividend cut

U.S. stocks closed marginally higher Monday after the Dow and the S&P 500 posted their first weekly drops in two months last week. Upside was capped, however, as uncertainty continued to swirl around the state of Republican tax-cut legislation while blue-chip General Electric Co. tumbled to a more-than-five-year low.

Where did main benchmarks end?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.49 points to 23,439.70. Gains for McDonald's Corp.(MCD) and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) counterbalanced a sharp decline in shares of GE(GE).

The S&P 500 climbed 2.54 points, or 0.1%, to 2,584.84 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 6.66 points, or 0.1%, to 6,757.60.

All three indexes are within 1% of their own all-time highs. So far this year, the Dow has gained 19% while the S&P is up 16% and the Nasdaq has gained 26%.

What moved the markets?

Analysts have blamed recent weakness on worries about delays in much-anticipated corporate tax cuts out of Washington. The three main stock gauges are still up by between 15% and 25% for the year, supported by factors such as an expanding U.S. economy and improving corporate profits.

Investors continue to monitor President Donald Trump's 13-day visit to Asia. On Monday, Trump said he had a "great relationship" with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and a White House official said human rights got only a brief mention as the two met in Manila, a Reuters report said (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-asia-philippines/trump-and-philippines-duterte-bond-at-asia-summit-rights-mentioned-briefly-idUSKBN1DD0FZ).

On Sunday, the president teased (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-teases-trade-announcement-to-be-announced-wednesday-2017-11-12) a "major statement" on trade that he said he'll make Wednesday. "A lot of things are happening on trade and I'll be announcing pretty much what happened here and also with other meetings, including with China, South Korea and lots of other places," Trump said from Manila.

See:Trump calls Kim Jong Un 'short and fat,' then offers his mediation skills for South China Sea dispute (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-insults-north-korean-leader-then-offers-to-mediate-south-china-sea-dispute-2017-11-12)

What are strategists saying?

"The Senate bill differs from the House bill in significant ways, making delays likely as the two chambers work out their differences in conference committee," Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients. "There is a chance that the House could pass the Senate's final bill and be done with it, but the differences are so large that it feels unlikely to us at this point."

Katie Stockton, chief technical strategist at BTIG, wrote that "global equity markets have seen a loss of short-term momentum that has finally given way to a pullback in the S&P 500 index."

She added: "A pullback in the 2%-3% range might be enough to relieve the market of 'overly bullish' sentiment without generating a lot of breakdowns or affecting positive intermediate-term momentum," Stockton said. It has been a historically long time (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-500-is-poised-to-make-uncanny-stock-market-historyfor-doing-almost-nothing-2017-10-12) since the market has seen a 3% decline from a peak, which are typically very common.

However, given that expectations for tax cuts are relatively low, it is "setting the stage for an upside surprise if successful," said Jason Pride, director of investment strategy at Glenmede

What are other assets doing?

European stocks pulled back, and the pound dropped as British Prime Minister Theresa May faces renewed pressure (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pound-slides-as-british-government-faces-turmoil-2017-11-13) to resign.

Most Asian markets closed lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-slumps-again-as-asian-markets-decline-2017-11-12), with the Nikkei falling the most since April, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index managed a modest gain. Gold futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-tips-higher-with-help-from-risk-off-mindset-across-markets-2017-11-13) and the ICE U.S. Dollar Index edged higher.

The U.S. oil benchmark was flat. A United Arab Emirates official said (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/13/opec-likely-to-extend-supply-cuts-in-bid-to-rebalance-the-market-uae-energy-minister-suhail-al-mazroui-says.html) he expects major producers to extend global supply cuts at a closely watched meeting at the end of the month.

Check out:Should oil really be trading above $60 a barrel? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-oil-really-be-trading-above-60-a-barrel-2017-11-10)

Which stocks are in focus?

GE skidded 7.2% after conglomerate plans to cut its dividend by half (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-plans-to-slash-dividend-by-50-2017-11-13), with the conglomerate saying the move will help its effort to drive up growth and value for shareholders.

See:GE stock suffers worst day in 8 1/2 years after transformation plan unveiled (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ges-stock-falls-to-5-12-year-low-as-new-sec-rule-to-cut-profit-estimate-by-21-billion-2017-11-13)

Shares in Mattel Inc.(MAT) jumped 21% in the wake of a report late Friday that rival toy maker Hasbro Inc.(HAS) has made a takeover offer (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hasbro-makes-an-offer-to-buy-rival-mattel-2017-11-1). Shares of Hasbro were up nearly 5.9%.

Tyson Foods Inc.'s stock (TSN) gained 2% after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tyson-shares-rise-after-earnings-and-sales-beat-2017-11-13).

Shares in Boeing Co.(BA) rose 0.6% after the aerospace giant scored a $15 billion deal with Emirates Airline (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-seals-151-billion-emirates-airlines-deal-2017-11-12). The Dow component has gained nearly 70% in 2017.

GGP Inc.(GGP) rose 8.3% as Brookfield Property Partners LP(BPY) has made a $14.8 billion offer (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brookfield-property-offers-148-billion-to-buy-mall-owner-ggp-2017-11-12) to acquire the shares of the mall owner that it doesn't already own. Shares of Brookfield fell 5%.

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics(NKTR) soared 14% after the biopharmaceutical company announced over the weekend positive data from a trial of its cancer treatment (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nektar-therapeutics-stock-rockets-toward-near-17-year-high-after-upbeat-trial-data-2017-11-13).

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX.T) said it was launching a private offering of $750 million worth of notes due 2025 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/valeant-issues-750-million-in-debt-to-pay-down-debt-2017-11-13), paying 5.5%. The drugmaker plans to use the proceeds from the debt offering to repay a portion of term loan facilities due 2022. Shares of Valeant dropped 5.1%.

What's on the economic calendar?

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker in a speech Sunday pulled back slightly in his support (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-harker-pulls-back-slightly-his-support-for-a-december-rate-hike-2017-11-12) for a December interest-rate hike.

No Federal Reserve officials are schedule to speak on Monday, but on Tuesday, departing Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is due to take part in a panel discussion with heads of other major central banks.

Read: With hurricane noise beginning to soften, economic focus turns to Fedspeak (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-hurricane-noise-beginning-to-soften-economic-focus-turns-to-fedspeak-2017-11-11)

--Victor Reklaitis contributed to this article

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2017 16:33 ET (21:33 GMT)