Stocks keep climbing, but slower than before tax cuts

When President Trump signed the tax cuts into law last December, there were questions as to whether Wall Street had already baked them into corporate stock prices.

Bottom line: It's been a mixed bag. The Dow and S&P 500 are both up since the tax cuts, but their growth has slowed significantly. Nasdaq, which is dominated by tech stocks, has experienced a slight acceleration.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average has only climbed 1.3% since the tax cuts were signed, despite having climbed 14.75% over the previous five months, and the S&P 500 is only up 3.5% compared to a previous gain of 8.7%.
• But the Nasdaq is up 11.3%, compared to nearly 9% for the prior five months.

One big variable introduced since the tax cuts is the prospect of global trade wars.