Trump: I’ve got a corporate tax reform coming. It’s the best corporate tax reform. It’s just phenomenal.
Airline shares rose this afternoon after it emerged Donald Trump is planning a "phenomenal" tax announcement in the next couple of weeks.
At a meeting with airline bosses this afternoon, Trump promised to ditch "burdensome regulations" and said a corporate tax announcement in the next couple of weeks will "lower the overall tax burden of American businesses", the FT reported.
Businesses are hoping Trump will make good on his promise to cut corporation tax in the US, currently at 35 per cent – one of the highest rates in the world.
Shares in International Airlines Group, the company behind Aer Lingus and British Airways, jumped 1.7 per cent to 488p in late afternoon trading, while EasyJet shares rose 1.8 per cent to 950p.
Across the pond, American Airlines soared 3.4 per cent to $46.44, while United Continental rose 1.7 per cent to $72.96. Delta, which part-owns Virgin Atlantic, rose 2.4 per cent to $49.24.
"President Trump is working his way through the sectors, almost company by company," said Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City Index.
"As far as the markets are concerned these meetings are good news and demonstrates Trump’s pro-business attitude. If we look back to Trump meeting with pharmaceutical bosses, the stocks then rallied and haven’t looked back since."
At the end of last month shares in airlines began to dip as investors reacted to Trump's travel ban to citizens of seven countries in the Middle East.
"The executive order from US President Donald Trump… has prompted large scale sell-offs across the board," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.