Morning Bid: Government shutdown and tariff fears jar year-end markets
U.S. government shutdown fears and fresh trade war threats cast another cloud over Wall Street as a bruising final full trading week of the year comes to a close and dampens what had been a stellar year for U.S. stocks. Already sideswiped by what was seen as a 'hawkish cut' in Federal Reserve interest rates on Wednesday, where the central bank lifted both its 2025 policy rate and inflation projections, the S&P 500 was in the red again late Thursday and futures were down almost 1% before Friday's bell. A spending bill backed by Donald Trump failed in the U.S. House of Representatives late Thursday as dozens of Republicans defied the President-elect, leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown that could disrupt Christmas travel.