Wall Street ends higher as investors assess Trump's budget

U.S. stock indices closed higher for the fourth session in a row, erasing the losses made last week, as markets assess U.S. president Trump's first full budget plan, which aims at cutting government spending by $3.6 trillion and balancing the budget in the next decade. 

On the same note, earlier U.S. data showed a steep drop in new home sales in April, while the Richmond manufacturing index fell more than expected in May, as markets followed Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari's speech, ahead of the release of Fed's minutes for the last policy meeting tomorrow. 

Dow Jones closed up 0.21%, or 43.08 points to 20,937.91, while Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.18%, or 4.40 points to 2,398.42, as NASDAQ Composite gained 0.08%, or 5.09 points to 6,138.71. 

Gold futures due on June 15 fell 0.80% to $1,251.30 an ounce from the opening of $1,261.40, while the dollar index rose 0.38% to 97.36 from the opening of 96.98. 

Otherwise, U.S. crude futures due on June 15 rose 0.82% to $51.55 a barrel from the opening of $51.13, while Brent crude futures due on July 16 climbed 0.67% to $54.23 a barrel from the opening of $53.87.