Dow Surges Past 24,000 For First Time As Senate Nears Vote On Tax Plan

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Dow Jones Industrials blew past the 24,000 mark for the first time Thursday – leaping 331 points to 24,272.

The S&P also set a new record with a 21-point gain, while the NASDAQ rose almost 50 points.

As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported, the impending tax deal is connected to all of this.

The Dow surging past 24,000 caps an extraordinary year of growth.

"We're looking at about a 33 percent rise for the Dow since election day, around 24 percent since the inauguration, and I think something like 17 percent for the S&P 500 since inauguration," said Bill Watts of MarketWatch.

President Donald Trump put out a tweet indicating that the story would be different had the Democrats won the 2016 presidential election.

Experts point to earnings growth and deregulation driving the surge. The big question is, how high is up?

Trump believes the passage of tax reform will give a further jolt to the market's record run, encouraging people left on the sidelines to jump in.

"People just want to get in now right, yeah. People call it a FOMO market -- fear of missing out -- so when then happens, people want to rush and get those gains… they don't want to be left behind," Watts said.

The U.S. Senate is nearing a vote on the tax plan, and Republicans got a big boost Thursday with Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) saying he will vote yes.

Republicans are still revising the bill to appease the senators who are worried that about the deficit. One provision would trigger new taxes if the proposal doesn't grow the economy as planned.

Others want to make u the deficit with spending cuts instead, and two senators said they want to reduce the cut to corporate taxes.

"The way this tax bill is being rammed through is why the American people feel our politics is broken," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York).

McCain said he was pleased that the bill has gone through what he calls normal legislative processes, with several hearings.

Republicans have 52 members in the Senate, and could only afford to lose two votes and still pass their legislation.