NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks edged lower early Thursday after the House of Representatives approved President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax relief, sparking further increases in US Treasury bond yields.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 41,829.75.
The broad-based S&P 500 also declined 0.1 percent to 5,837.36, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.4 percent to 19,535.10.
The bill extends for 10 years tax cuts enacted under Trump’s 2017 legislation, while enacting cuts to social safety net programs. It must now pass to the Senate, who are expected to make extensive revisions, before reaching Trump’s desk.
US stocks decline as bond yields jump again
While investors welcome the tax cuts, they have been unnerved by forecasts that the proposal will add trillions of dollars in US debt.
The yield on the 30-year US Treasury bond rose to 5.12 percent, while the 10-year Treasury note also rose.
The rising rates are “the market’s way of signaling a lack of confidence in the US government and its policy direction,” said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
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