President Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ was passed by the House on Thursday and now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate. Investors are struggling to form a collective view on the development. Most international indices have reacted negatively, though Wall Street moved higher during the session after a soft start to the week.
US investors struggle for collective opinion following tax and spending bill
Wall Street’s main indices struggled for direction as investors remained uncertain about the ultimate implications of President Trump’s sweeping multi-trillion-dollar tax-breaks package. The bill is expected to add +US$3.8 trillion to the country’s US$36.2 trillion debt. The DOW added +0.4%, the S&P 500 rose +0.3%, and the NASDAQ increased +0.7%. Alphabet gained +3.3% to reach a three-month high. FirstSolar lost -6.0% on expectations that Trump’s tax bill will end multiple green energy subsidies. Snowflake soared +12.0% after the cloud computing company raised its FY26 product revenue forecast. Yield curves steepened as the US two-year Treasury yield dipped -2 bps to 4.00%, while the US 10-year gained +5 bps to 4.55%.
Europe down on US debt news
The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell -0.6%, while London’s FTSE 100 slipped -0.5% following the passage of the tax-cut bill in the US. EasyJet lost -2.7% after reporting a wider loss for 1H25 of the current financial year.
Australasia wholly into the red following US national debt
The ASX 200 tumbled -0.5% on investor concerns over the White House adding US$4 trillion to the national debt. Fortescue lost -1.5% after the miner flagged a delay in its Iron Bridge project to FY28. Wesfarmers fell -1.2% after warning of a languishing lithium market. Ventia added +1.5%, bucking the broader trend, after the services group reiterated its CY25 profit growth guidance. Nufarm lost -6.4%, taking its two-day decline to -35.0%, after at least four investment banks downgraded their recommendations on the stock. The NZX 50 also fell -0.3%. All benchmarks in Asia ended in negative territory. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Korea’s Kospi each fell -1.2%, followed by the Nikkei 225 with -0.8%. The Shanghai Composite and CSI 300 dropped -0.2% and -0.1% respectively.
WTI Crude and Gold down, Iron Ore flat
WTI Crude fell -0.6% to US$61.21/bbl, Gold lost -0.6% to US$3,224.34/oz, and Iron Ore remained unchanged at US$100.05/MT.
NZ Headlines
A second-half recovery has boosted AFT Pharmaceuticals’ full-year result to a record revenue of NZ$208 million for FY25, up +6% on the prior year. The company has now revised its revenue target from NZ$200 million to NZ$300 million by the end of FY27, which would require a step-up in annual growth rates from recent years.
The CEO of My Food Bag says the consumer spending environment is ‘still tough’, but he does not expect it to worsen. Mark Winter made the comment after the listed food delivery company reported a +5% increase in net profit after tax to NZ$6.3 million.
Announcing its annual results to March, NZX-listed retirement village operator Oceania Healthcare said it will outline its new policy at the annual shareholder meeting next month.
Today's Events
- StatsNZ: Retail trade survey (Mar 25 qtr)
- Metro Performance Glass (MPG): FY25 Result
- Channel Infrastructure (CHI): AGM
- Restaurant Brands (RBD): AGM