US stocks weaker as investors assess Russian probe and US tax reform plan

   •  Russian probe weigh on investors’ sentiment.
   •  Prospects for tax reforms hold the key.

Major US equity indices witnessed a weaker opening on the last trading day of the week, with investors tracking progress over the Republican-led tax cut legislation.

The House of Representatives passed a sweeping bill to overhaul the US tax code on Thursday but faces immediate hurdles the bill now comes in the Senate, where the GOP has a very thin lead. The House and Senate need to agree on a single measure before sending it to Trump for signature. 

The positive news, however, was overshadowed by the latest developments surrounding an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election. According to the Wall Street Journal, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team issued a subpoena to more than a dozen officials from Donald Trump’s campaign in mid-October, asking them to hand over Russia-related documents. 

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost around 65-points to 23,392, while the broader S&P 500 Index fell nearly 4-points to 2,582. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed the broader indices and retreated only 3-points to 6,790.