US stocks trim early gains, weighed down by technology stocks

   •  Investors await the final passage of tax bill.
   •  Sell-off in tech stocks offset tax bill optimism.

Major US equity indices witnessed a rather mixed opening on Wednesday despite optimism over the more likely passage of a sweeping tax bill. 

The historic tax legislation was approved on a 51-48 vote, but the Senate had to send it back to the House of Representatives for a re-vote due to some procedural hiccups. The final approval is expected later today before the bill is sent to the US President Donald Trump, to be signed into law. 

Hopes for tax cuts had been one of the key factors driving the equity markets' higher through 2017, partly because the tax package is expected to boost corporate earnings and lead to higher dividends and stock buybacks for investors.

However, a sharp slide in technology stocks, with tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slumping around 40-points from opening levels, weighed on the broader markets and kept a lid on the initial uptick. 

Adding to this, the latest news headlines, hitting the wires via Dow Jones, that Trump's signing of tax bill could be delayed until January seems to have dented the sentiment and might have also collaborated to the markets’ knee-jerk reaction. 

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added around 40-points to 24,790 and the broader S&P 500 Index ticked higher to 2,683, or nearly 2-points.