If a corporate tax cut does occur, it would be likely to help lift companies' profits - and stock prices - even further.
U.S. stocks saw a second straight day of strong gains, boosted by encouraging earnings reports from major firms including Caterpillar and McDonald's.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.6 percent, to 2,388.61. Meanwhile, sales of newly-constructed homes (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-roar-to-an-8-month-high-as-spring-selling-season-starts-with-a-bang-2017-04-25) rose to the highest in almost a year in March as the housing recovery picked up steam.
The S&P 500 gained 14, the NASDAQ added 41 and the Dow Jones Industrial average closed up over 232 points, settling to 20,996.
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The tech-heavy stock index - which has been overshadowed of late as the Dow has blown past the 20,000 and 21,000 marks in recent months - surpassed 6,000 for the first time in its history, closing at 6,025.49.
The Russell 2000 rose 13.13 points, or 0.9%, to a record close of 1,411.07.
Corporate news provided some cheer, with McDonald's rallying after the fast food giant's first-quarter earnings beat forecasts, while Caterpillar advanced after the construction equipment manufacturer raised its full-year revenue guidance and reported better-than-expected results.
Tech stocks have become a way to bet on USA economic growth while reducing reliance on anticipated US policy changes like tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending, many investors and analysts say.
Analytical Approach on: Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI)
This is the price at which the trader or investor wants to exit his existing position so he can realize the most reward. The stock climbed 9.42 percent over the past quarter, while surged 22.8 percent over the past six months.
Biotech drug maker Biogen leapt 4.4 percent after its own results also came in ahead of forecasts.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing that new home sales saw a substantial increase in the month of March.
Ryder System fell after weaker-than-expected rental demand pushed it to report lower quarterly results than analysts had forecast.
April 26 USA stocks hovered near record levels on Wednesday ahead of a highly anticipated tax plan, while a flood of quarterly earnings reports kept investors busy.
Joshua Mahony, a market analyst at IG, said: "US markets are leading the way higher, as the excitement over Donald Trump's corporate tax cuts takes the mantle from the French elections". The Nasdaq composite climbed 22 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,006, its first move above 6,000 points. Germany's DAX rose 0.1% and the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.2%. One traditional method used to gauge whether a stock is too expensive is to compare its price to how much profit the company makes.
Meanwhile, oil prices recovered on Wednesday after US crude stockpiles fell by 3.6 million barrels, much more than the 1.7 million forecast. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, rose 50 cents to $52.10 per barrel.
Significant strength was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 1.9% gain posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index.
The euro rose to $1.0939 from $1.0858 late Monday. The dollar rose to 111.09 Japanese yen from 109.79, and the British pound rose to 1.2830 dollars from 1.2789 dollars. It was 2.17 percent a week ago.
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