The sting of President Joe Biden's proposal to roughly double the capital gains tax for wealthy Americans eased today, with markets finishing a choppy week on a high note.
"I'm shocked the market was surprised that higher capital gains taxes are coming," says LPL Financial chief market strategist Ryan Detrick. "We knew this was going to happen the second President Biden won in November. Calmer heads prevailed today with the broad rally at least."
And a broad rally it was indeed, thanks in part to a few upbeat economic reports. Namely, data showed new home sales in the U.S. rose by more than 20% month-over-month in March, while the service sector expanded at its quickest pace since 2009 last month and factory activity signaled improvement in April.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Tech stocks led the charge higher, with Apple (AAPL, +1.8%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, +4.7%) two of the day's notable gainers. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% at 34,043, the S&P 500 was 1.1% higher at 4,180, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4% to 14,016.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.8% to finish at 2,271.
- U.S. crude oil futures added 1.2% to settle at $62.14 per barrel.
- Gold futures declined 0.2% to $1,777.80 per ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) plunged 7.4% to settle at 17.33.
- Bitcoin prices sank by 3.7% to $50,983. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Where are the Low-Cost ETFs?
Let's face it: expenses matter when it comes to investing. This point was made abundantly clear in late 2019, when most online brokerages in the U.S. went commission-free with stocks, exchange-traded funds and options in order to draw more investors to the table. And in recent years, several index fund providers have begun reducing their fees.
While Vanguard was one of the pioneers in the low-cost investing space, many other providers have since followed suit. We've taken a fresh look at some of the cheapest index funds on the market right now – including one ETF whose expense ratio is zero.
-
My First $1 Million: Retired In-House Corporate Lawyer, 74Ever wonder how someone who's made a million dollars or more did it? Kiplinger's My First $1 Million series uncovers the answers.
-
How to Give Your Kids Cash Gifts Without the IRS PaperworkMost people can gift large sums without paying tax or filing a return, especially by structuring gifts across two tax years or splitting gifts with a spouse.
-
'Boomer Candy' Investments Might Seem Sweet, But BewareProducts such as index annuities, structured notes and buffered ETFs might seem appealing, but sometimes they can rob you of flexibility and trap your capital.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Home Depot Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayHome Depot stock has been a buy-and-hold banger for truly long-term investors.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Bank of America Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayBank of America stock has been a massive buy-and-hold bust.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Oracle Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayORCL Oracle stock has been an outstanding buy-and-hold bet for decades.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodaySherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UnitedHealth Group Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayUNH stock was a massive market beater for ages — until it wasn't.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Berkshire Hathaway Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayBerkshire Hathaway is a long-time market beater, but the easy money in BRK.B has already been made.
