Wall Street slides as tax plan talks shake markets and bond yields surge

On Wednesday, May 21, stocks on Wall Street dropped early in the day as investors paid close attention to what’s happening in Washington, D.C., regarding President Donald Trump’s tax cut plan. At the same time, US Treasury bond yields jumped higher, making investors more cautious.

The 30-year US Treasury bond yield rose above 5%, after news that Republican lawmakers were working on a bigger tax deduction for people in states with high taxes. This change might help the plan pass in Congress, but experts say it could also add to the US deficit.

Just 15 minutes into the trading day, major stock indexes were all down:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9% to 42,315.44

• The S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 5,911.90

• The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.3% to 19,077.10

This week, a lot of attention has been on Capitol Hill, while finance leaders from the G7 nations met in Canada to discuss serious global issues, including the war in Ukraine and ongoing trade tensions caused by Trump’s tariff policies.

In company news, Target, the popular retail chain, saw its stock drop 6.8% after it released another disappointing earnings report.

Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, said the company is making changes in leadership to help it become faster and more flexible:

“Build more speed and agility in how we operate,” Cornell explained.