U.S. stock futures are higher after the Senate narrowly passed the One Big Beautiful Bill and passed it on to the House for final approval.
Congress still aims to get the legislation to President Donald Trump’s desk by July 4, but it remains to be seen if that will happen. Many House representatives are still grousing about cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and ballooning the deficit with only a few days to that deadline.
At 6:05 a.m. ET, futures linked to the blue-chip Dow rose 0.15%, while broad S&P 500 futures gained 0.13% and tech-laden Nasdaq futures added 0.09%.
Trade issues linger
Although the One Big Beautiful Bill is in the spotlight, trade issues continue to linger offstage.
Trump’s self-imposed trade deal deadline of July 9 is fast approaching, and there are mixed messages on whether the deadline is flexible. Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the July 9 deadline for restarting tariffs on countries that haven’t yet reached a trade deal wth the U.S. is “not critical,” which some took as a hint the deadline was flexible.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent then said trade deals could come by Labor Day in September.
However, Trump said this week he isn’t considering delaying the deadline for higher tariffs to resume and renewed his threat to cut off talks and impose duty rates on several nations, including Japan. He criticized Japan for shunning U.S. rice exports and for imbalanced auto trade between the two countries. He floated 30% to 35% tariffs on Japanese goods and cast doubts on whether the U.S. could reach a deal with Japan.
So far, markets have shrugged off fears of higher tariffs. “Investors are banking on yet another Trump retreat and reversal,” said Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.
Corporate news
Verint Systems is in talks with buyout firm Thoma Bravo over a possible acquisition, according to Bloomberg.
Centene withdrew its full-year outlook after the company said it received data showing its enrollees in the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces overall appeared fewer, and less healthy, than expected.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stock futures higher as Trump megabill heads to House
