The S&P 500 stretched its gains into day four on Tuesday, its longest streak since mid-February, after the Trump White House released a budget proposal heavy on cuts to social programs.
The S&P 500 was up 0.19%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.21%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.08%.
The White House unveiled its 2018 budget proposal as a "taxpayer first" plan that makes deep cuts to a number of programs while raising spending on border security and defense. The Trump administration sent the budget proposal to Congress on Tuesday, outlining its wish list for how the federal government will spend its money next year.
The plan, titled "A New Foundation for American Greatness," included $3.6 trillion in spending reductions by slashing funds for entitlements and discretionary programs while increasing allocations for items including law enforcement and defense. About $800 billion in cuts would be made to Medicaid over the next decade, while cuts to food stamps would amount to $192 billion over 10 years. Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would not enact cuts to Medicaid should he become president.
Trump's proposed budget cuts could hurt the discount retail sector, Brian Sozzi argued over on TheStreet's premium site Real Money. Get his insights with a free trial subscription.
Crude oil fluctuated on Tuesday morning after the Trump administration proposed selling roughly half of the U.S.'s emergency oil stockpile to lower the national debt. The emergency stockpile consists of 687.7 million barrels of oil. Trump's plan also allows oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to settle at $51.47 a barrel.
Trump is in the middle of a nine-day trip, his first abroad since assuming office in January. The trip comes after two weeks of bombshells tied to his campaign's relations with Russia during the election.
The chances of tax reform this year have grown more remote as the Trump administration wrestles with the negative headlines and leaks. Gains since the November election have largely been tied to high hopes over tax cuts and rollbacks of regulations.
"The drama in Washington leaves investors searching for the next catalyst to push stocks higher," said David Joy, Ameriprise Financial chief market strategist. "Notwithstanding last week's turbulence, stocks have managed to tread water since early March while events in Washington have unfolded. That is certainly a positive. The best quarter for earnings growth in six years no doubt helped. But if the Washington policy machine grinds to a halt, it is less clear that economic growth and expected earnings are likely to be strong enough to push stocks higher on their own."
A bombing at a Manchester, England, concert set Wall Street on edge. The deadly attack at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena late Monday claimed 22 lives, injured as many as 60 more, and is being treated as a terrorist incident, a spokesman for the Greater Manchester Police has confirmed. The attacker died at the scene after using a self-detonating explosive in the 21,000-seat capacity arena. Police are investigating whether he acted alone or with assistance. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.
The incident is the deadliest terrorist attack on British soil since July 2005, when Muslim extremists killed 52 people with three separate suicide bombs across London's transport system at the height of the morning rush-hour commute.
Wall Street rose on Monday after a series of deals with Saudi Arabia lifted defense stocks. The S&P 500 ended the day less than 10 points from its all-time closing record achieved a week earlier. Shares of Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Dow component Boeing (BA) rose Monday after both companies were seen walking away as winners from the weekend's Saudi deals bonanza, which saw Donald Trump and representatives for American companies inking more than $350 billion of deals.
