Dow Jones, S&P 500 flat at the close as markets digest Trump's 'big beautiful bill'

4:16pm: Bitcoin at record high

US stocks finished Thursday’s session little changed as investors weighed up the latest updates from the White House, including a new tax and spending package.

The S&P 500 closed down 2 points at 5,842 points, the Dow Jones shed a single point to close at 41,859 points while the Nasdaq added 0.3% at 18,925 points.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, reached new highs. The cryptocurrency topped $111,000 for the first time, finishing the session up 2.7% at about $111,340.

3:31pm: Proactive news headlines

Golden Shield Resources plans to raise up to C$975,000 through a private placement to fund exploration at its Guyana gold project.

EnWave Corp reported second-quarter revenue of C$3.7 million, driven by machine sales and new equipment commissions.

Gratomic Inc. appointed Manie Silver as CEO and Arno Brand as executive chair amid a leadership overhaul.

Synchronoss Technologies launched an AI-enhanced version of its Personal Cloud platform with new photo and memory features.

Ocean Power Technologies completed sea trials of its WAV-V 22 autonomous vehicle for a customer in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Medicus Pharma received UAE approval to begin a Phase 2 trial of its non-invasive skin cancer therapy.

Standard Uranium Ltd announced ExoSphere surveys at its Davidson River project with Fleet Space Technologies.

NanoViricides welcomed new FDA guidance narrowing COVID booster use, calling it a science-based policy shift.

Nextech3D.AI migrated its MAP Dynamics platform to AWS to support global scaling and performance improvements.

Reconnaissance Energy Africa appointed Mark Friesen as managing director of investor relations and capital markets.

HIVE Digital Technologies reached a record 9.5 EH/s in Bitcoin mining hashrate, surpassing 1% of the global network.

2:59pm: Stocks on the move

Navitas Semiconductor Corp shares soared nearly 160% after announcing a collaboration with Nvidia to supply GaN and SiC power solutions for future data centers.

Toronto-Dominion Bank rose after beating earnings estimates and revealing a cost-cutting plan that includes a 2% workforce reduction.

U.S. solar energy stocks fell sharply after the House passed a bill proposing to repeal key clean energy tax incentives.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. jumped 22% following strong first-quarter earnings and revenue growth driven by all its brands.

Snowflake Inc gained over 11% after topping Q1 earnings expectations and raising its full-year revenue guidance.

2:05pm: Thursday's headlines

Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high, topping $111,000 for the first time.

Nearly $70 billion was wiped from Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) market value amid mounting speculation that OpenAI and former Apple designer Jony Ive are preparing to unveil a next-generation artificial intelligence-supported device, following confirmation of OpenAI’s largest acquisition to date.

Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) said chief executive Jakob Stausholm would step down later this year once a successor is named, with a formal search for his replacement now underway.

Solar energy stocks tumbled on Thursday after the House of Representatives passed a sweeping budget and tax bill that proposes to eliminate key clean energy incentives, triggering fears of a sharp slowdown in industry investment.

12:45pm: Stocks stabilize

Wall Street is catching its breath today after a rough start to the week, with major indexes inching higher as the bond market calms down—at least for now.

The Dow is up 0.1%, the S&P 500 has added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq is leading the way with a 0.6% gain as investors regain some confidence. A major source of market stress—soaring Treasury yields—has eased a bit since yesterday’s sharp sell-off, although the 10-year yield is still hovering above 4.6%, keeping traders on edge.

Much of the recent anxiety has centered on the federal deficit and the long-term impact of President Trump’s recently passed “One Big Beautiful” tax bill. But today’s batch of economic data is offering a touch of reassurance: weekly jobless claims came in right on target, and existing home sales are expected to show a slight uptick, suggesting some resilience in housing. Meanwhile, manufacturing and services numbers are still pointing to slow but steady growth.

12:16pm: Existing home sales fall

Existing home sales in the US fell 0.5% in April, marking the third decline in four months, as affordability challenges continued to weigh on buyers.

Mortgage rates, while slightly lower ahead of April, remained elevated above 6.5% and have since climbed past 7%.

“Affordability remains the biggest obstacle for buyers, with high mortgage rates and rising prices limiting purchasing power,” analysts at Wells Fargo wrote.

April’s 1.7% annual increase in single-family resale prices was the slowest pace of appreciation since July 2023—a modest sign of relief for buyers. Wells Fargo noted that “softer price appreciation and growing resale inventories are positive developments,” but added that “inventory levels remain historically low, and unfavorable affordability conditions will likely prevent a meaningful resale recovery in the near-term.”

11:35am: No enthusiasm for tax bill

While the Nasdaq was in the green on Thursday morning, any progress with the new tax bill hasn't done much to lift the sentiment on Wall Street.

“An absence of new trade ‘deals’ and continues worries about the US’ fiscal trajectory mean that optimism remains hard to find on Wall Street," wrote Chris Beauchamp, IG's senior market analyst.

"Fortunately the early part of the session has seen some healthy buying in most of the Magnificent 7, providing further signs that risk appetite hasn’t dissipated entirely. Nvidia’s earnings loom large in next week’s calendar, providing a final pivotal moment as Q1 earnings season winds down.”

10:44am: Yields rising

Yields on long-term U.S. government bonds have jumped sharply in recent days, driven by mounting concerns over the country’s growing fiscal deficit, according to Kathleen Brooks of XTB.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury rose by 20 basis points over the past week, outpacing moves in many other developed markets. Brooks said the sell-off in U.S. bonds reflects increasing investor unease as Washington continues to grapple with high and rising deficit levels.

“Credit is still in vogue, just not sovereign credit right now,” Brooks noted, pointing to the growing appeal of triple-A rated corporate bonds, which offer investors attractive returns without the same fiscal risks. “There are so many options to buy corporate bonds that it’s no wonder buyers are wary of feeding unsustainable deficit levels for the world’s major economies.”

The recent spike in yields comes as the U.S. government attempts to push through budget plans amid a broader environment of fiscal stress across developed economies. Brooks warned that unless equity markets suffer a major correction—driving investors back into government bonds—the upward pressure on yields could persist.

9.55am: Mixed start turns green, led by Nasdaq

It was a mixed open for US stocks, though losses are already being trimmed.

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 started marginally in the red, with the Nasdaq up slightly. After 25 minutes all three were in green, with the Naddaq leading the way, up 0.5%.  

MicroStrategy is up 4% on bitcoin's new all-time high. Nike is up over 1.7%, top riser in the Dow, after its price rise.

Enphase Energy, down 16%, is among those expected to be hit by Trump's bill. 

8.15am: US stocks set to start in mixed style

US stocks are expected to start in unsettled style on Thursday with bond markets showing their disapproval as the House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' by a single vote. 

Stock market futures were mixed, with earlier gains squashed as bond yields, which had been easing off from the previous day's highs, spiked back higher as the vote on the bill progressed. 

Dow Jones futures were down 0.2%, those for the S&P 500 were just below flat, while Nasdaq futures were just above flat, having been up 0.3% two hours earlier. 

Gold and bitcoin rallied, meanwhile, with the former at $3,313, under $150 from its record high last month, while the cryptocurrency has notched a new all-time high above $111,700.

The US dollar picked up, with the DXY dollar index rising 0.1%.

The House began debating Trump's multi-trillion tax cuts bill before midnight and by sunrise the vote was called at 215-214 in favour, with the bill now going before the Senate.

Holdouts in the Republican party dropped their opposition amidst pressure and last-minute concessions from Trump, with the bill making permanent his 2017 tax cuts that generally benefit the wealthy, slashing $1.5 trillion of spending, including excluding many people from Medicaid and various social programs, as well as killing Joe Biden green energy tax credits.

Stock markets are "starting to wake up to the strife in bond markets", said market analysts Neil Wilson at Saxo.

He said trouble "has been brewing in the bond market for weeks" and started having an impact on the stock market from yesterday. 

Bond market selling, sending yields higher, reflects "worries about the US fiscal position and economy," said Wilson, as Trump's bill is expected to raise debt and possibly inflation, as well as a weak 20yr auction.

"Stocks fell as investors realised this is not a drill – as heard on the floor earlier this week, they will break the equity market to save the bond market."

He noted that yesterday saw the 30yr Treasury yield close above 5% for the first time since October 2023, at 5.09% only a couple of basis points away from its highest level since 2007. This morning the 30yr yield climbed to 5.136%.

Yields were sent higher after a "soft" 20yr Treasury auction, where bonds were issued 1.2 basis points above the pre-sale yield, which ended a pattern seen in the previous two sessions of an early Treasury sell-off reversing during US trading hours, said market strategist Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank.

While concerns have been mounting about debt sustainability over the past 24 hours, Reid said "sensible people have been worried about debt sustainability for years" and traders a decade or two ago would have been "incredulous" that the US could comfortably fund 7% mid-cycle deficits in recent years.

"So we could have sustainability fears for years to come before an inevitable accident or event happens. However it's fair to say that events in 2025 have brought forward any day of reckoning."

In company news, Nike said overnight that it will raise prices on a range of its footwear and apparel from this Sunday.