Wall Street Treads Water Amid Tax Bill Drama, Bitcoin Soars to New Heights

Stocks Stagnate as Investors Weigh Trump's Tax Moves

An hour into trading, U.S. stocks are stuck in neutral, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average clinging to a meager 13-point gain. Investors are biting their nails over the latest twists in President Donald Trump's tax bill saga.

The Dow clawed back from earlier futures losses, but the S&P 500 is barely holding on, up a measly 0.06 percent. The Nasdaq Composite isn't doing much better, eking out a 0.5 percent gain at the open. It's like watching paint dry, but with more money on the line.

Wall Street's nerves are shot, threatening to drag the major indices away from their recent highs. Those highs were fueled by a cocktail of trade deal optimism and wishful thinking.

But now, fresh worries about U.S.-China tensions over semiconductor policy and the House's latest vote are sending investor sentiment into a tailspin.

The House of Representatives just passed a bill that's all about slashing taxes and beefing up military spending. And guess what? Investors are not thrilled.

The big fear is that Trump's tax bill could send the U.S. deficit into overdrive.

We're already staring down a 36 trillion dollar deficit, and investors are freaking out that it could balloon by several more trillion. Just days ago, Moody's threw shade at the U.S. credit rating, downgrading it like it's nobody's business.

This gloomy outlook has the 30-year Treasury yield spiking to 5.1 percent, the highest it's been since October 2023. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury note yield is chilling near 4.6 percent, like it's trying to stay cool in all this chaos.

With long-term interest rates climbing and the economy throwing punches, stocks are on the ropes, struggling to stay upright.

But while stocks are gasping for air, Bitcoin is absolutely crushing it, hitting a new all-time high above $111k. The crypto king is flexing hard, and altcoins like Ethereum are tagging along for the ride.

In other news, U.S. jobless claims took a tiny dip last week, ending May 17. The data shows a drop of 2,000 in initial unemployment insurance filings, landing at a seasonally adjusted 227,000. That's just a hair below the 230,000 that Dow Jones was expecting. But don't get too excited—the four-week moving average for jobless claims is still creeping up to 231,500.