The Tax bill has been talked about for some time, and today was the day for it. Obviously, it cleared the US house easily enough and is now on its way to the senate; where the republicans have control as well. What does this mean for markets? Well put simply it cuts corporation tax from the current 35% to 20% – a very large jump – which means US companies are likely to record larger profits which of course will have a flow on effect for the economy. The real question here is if the republicans in the senate will be able to push it straight through or will look to make amendments. They are after all different creatures in the senate and the tend to be more heavy handed when it comes to clearing large bills like this through government. However, with a two seat advantage it looks like it may just shine through and Trump will be able to sign it all off before Christmas – giving him his first major win of his presidency.

For equity markets the rally has been pretty sharp as a result of the tax bill. Traders are betting that in the long run this tax bill will unleash the corporate machine that is America and record profits will accordingly flow through. The S&P 500 today was a prime candidate for this as a I previously noted, and accordingly has rallied sharply. Resistance at 2580 was no match for traders looking to enjoy the rally today and now it’s a case of targeting 2600 for many bulls in the market. If the senate does indeed push the bill through then 2600 may be a support level as the market will jump sharply I feel – given it’s the last hurdle. With a tax reform like this the possibility of even pushing the 3000 mark becomes all the more realistic. If we see the bill struggle then we could see sharp drops on the charts to support levels at 2565 and 2545, with the potential to go further as it feels a lot is riding on this bill in the equity markets.

The Australian dollar was one I also touched on yesterday and while the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% (5.5% exp) the participation rate was lower, and accordingly the creation of new jobs only came in at 3K so it was disappointing for traders in reality. I still feel that the AUD will struggle in the long run given the pressure on the economy, and as the USD continues to find favour with traders again.

The AUDUSD on the charts currently has been trading between resistance at 0.7462 and support at 0.7566, with market expectations of potential falls lower. The 0.7500 psychological level is currently likely to be the largest target if the trend continues. However, we could see a bounce here and a retest of resistance levels at 0.7624 and 0.7687 on the charts.