NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher Thursday, after the recent approval of the tax bill.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 55.64 points, or 0.23 percent, to 24,782.29. The S&P 500 rose 5.32 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,684.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.40 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,965.36.

The U.S. Congress on Wednesday finally passed the Republican bill to overhaul the U.S. tax code over three decades, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk for signature, amid concerns that the change would widen income inequality and swell public debt.

"By cutting taxes and reforming the broken system, we are now pouring rocket fuel into the engine of our economy," Trump said Wednesday in a statement after the final congressional passage of the tax legislation.

Some companies said they would spend the savings from lower corporate taxes on higher wages and new construction.

"The tax cuts should help, especially if companies follow AT&T and Comcast's lead paying tax-cut related employee bonuses, and investing in U.S. networks. Or Wells Fargo and Fifth Third' s example by raising employee minimum wages," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

On the economic front, U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2017, according to the "third" estimate released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.1 percent.