Wall Street Futures slides ahead of Trump's tax bill debate

Wall Street Futures declined on Wednesday ahead of a debate on US President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts, with traders adopting a cautious stance.

At 6 pm IST, S&P 500 Futures were trading 0.62 percent lower, Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.65 percent and Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures were down 0.79 percent, signalling a weak start for US equities when markets open at 7 pm IST.

Trump, who is seeking unanimous support from his party, warned on Tuesday that dissenters could face political consequences. “Holdouts could be drummed out of the party,” he said, adding pressure on lawmakers ahead of the vote, reported Reuters.

The concerns are compounded by broader worries over fiscal discipline. Ratings agency Moody’s last week downgraded the US government’s credit rating, citing concerns over the country’s ballooning debt levels. The downgrade has added to investor nervousness and raised doubts about the sustainability of recent gains in US equities.

While global stocks had rebounded in recent sessions on hopes of easing US tariffs, Wednesday’s developments have once again brought volatility to the forefront.

European shares tracked the downtrend, with the pan-European STOXX 600 slipping 0.34 percent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 indices were also in the red.

Meanwhile, Asian markets showed a mixed trend. South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices closed in the green, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 settled lower.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks staged a smart recovery after three straight sessions of losses. The BSE Sensex jumped 410.19 points or 0.51 percent to close at 81,596.63, with 24 of its 30 components ending in positive territory. In intraday trade, the index surged as much as 835.2 points to hit a high of 82,021.64. The NSE Nifty advanced 129.55 points or 0.52 per cent to end at 24,813.45, supported by gains in heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, alongside firm cues from Asian peers.

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