US stocks drift into negative territory as tax bill vote draws near

Major US equity indices struggled to build strong gains posted in the previous two sessions and quickly drifted into negative territory during the opening hour of trade on Tuesday. 

Growing optimism that the Republicans’ major tax overhaul will get approved before Christmas has been fueling the markets' recent bullish run to fresh record highs. 

Investors, however, opted to take some profits off the table and watch for the latest policy updates, with the House of Representatives expected to vote on the final version on Tuesday. The Senate vote is expected to follow either on Tuesday or Wednesday, providing enough time for the bill to be signed by the US President Donald Trump before the Republicans' self-imposed deadline. 

On the economic data front, housing starts jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.297 million in November, while building permits also ticked up 1.4% to a 1.298 million rate. Adding to the upbeat US housing market data, the US current account deficit fell by 19% to $100.6 billion in the third quarter but failed to boost investors' sentiment. 

At the time of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 50-points to 24,742, while the broader S&P 500 Index lost about 2-3 points to 2,687. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped around 17-points and dropped to 6,980.