Treasury Yields Slide After House Passes Tax Bill; Bitcoin Nears New High — WSJ
By Katy Barnato and Karen LangleyThe bond market remained jittery Thursday after the House passed President Trump's sprawling tax-and-spending package. Major stock indexes rose, while bitcoin prices held near new record highs.Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, slipped. The benchmark 10-year yield edged lower to around 4.56%. Its 30-year equivalent inched down but remained above 5%.Prior to last-minute changes, the bill was expected to increase budget deficits by about $2.7 trillion over a decade. Investors had expected to see "much more in terms of fiscal restraint," said Federal Reserve policymaker Christopher Waller.Anxieties about the size of the forecast deficits, combined with Moody's Ratings stripping the U.S. of its last major triple-A credit rating, have pushed yields higher in recent days.New data showed an unexpected drop in existing home sales last month, in the slowest April for the housing market since 2009.In recent trading:The Nasdaq Composite advanced, and the Dow industrials and S&P 500 edged higher. On Wednesday the Dow fell 1.9% after a disappointing Treasury auction accelerated the bond selloff.Health insurers declined after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would expand its auditing of Medicare Advantage.Bitcoin traded above $111,000, extending a rally that gained extra momentum this week after the Senate voted to advance a bill aimed at regulating stablecoins. Trump will attend a gala dinner Thursday with the biggest holders of his $TRUMP meme coin.Asian and European stocks retreated, echoing Wednesday's falls in the U.S. Eurozone business activity declined in May, despite Trump rolling back some tariff hikes, new data showed.This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).