European Shares To Open On Soft Note As US Debt Concerns Mount

(RTTNews) - European stocks may open on a sluggish note Thursday as investors react to U.S. deficit concerns and budget debates.

U.S. President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will transform taxes and other federal policies, is amplifying debt and deficit concerns and pushing 30-year Treasury yields to their highest level in 18 months.

Critics says the mega-bill pairing tax relief with spending cuts would decimate health care while ballooning the debt.

A House vote was scheduled for today, but members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have demanded more changes, stalling the bill's progress.

Elsewhere, media reports suggest that G7 ministers are seeking to downplay disputes over U.S. tariffs and striving to issue a joint communique covering non-tariff issues to keep the forum viable.

Asian markets were broadly lower on concerns over the US's swelling debt and deficits. Japan's Nikkei was down more than 1 percent as the yen hit a new two-week high against a broadly weaker dollar.

In a rate and explicit statement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato agreed on Wednesday that the dollar-yen exchange rate currently reflects fundamentals.

Treasuries continued their slide ahead of U.S. reports on weekly jobless claims and existing home sales due later in the day.

Closer home, flash purchasing managers' survey results from the major euro area economies and business sentiment data from Germany and France are due later in the session.

Oil steadied after a decline as data showed a surprise inventory build. Gold extended gains for a fourth session, rising above $3,330 per ounce in Asian trade.

Overnight, Wall Street saw one of its most brutal selling sessions in over a month as a deteriorating U.S. fiscal outlook and poor response to the 20-year bond auction led to a spike in bond yields.

The thirty-year bond yield climbed above 5 percent due to concerns the new U.S. tax bill could worsen the country's deficit.

Downbeat news from companies such as UnitedHealth Group, Target and Wolfspeed also added to the selling pressure.

The Dow plunged 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 gave up 1.6 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.4 percent.

European stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as uncertainty prevailed in U.S.-Iran and Russia-Ukraine peace talks and data showed U.K. inflation surged to its highest level since January 2024 in April.

The pan European STOXX 600 finished marginally lower. The German DAX rose 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE100 edged up marginally while France's CAC 40 dipped 0.4 percent.