Rally stalls after health bill vote delayed
NEW YORK — After a promising start, U.S. stock indexes gave up an early rally and ended mostly lower Thursday after Republicans delayed a vote on their health care bill and left investors concerned about delays for President Donald Trump’s businessfriendly agenda.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose as much as 96 points, but doubts about the bill cast a shadow over the market as hardline conservatives said they didn’t support it. Health care stocks turned lower.
Near the close of trading, House Republican leadership postponed a vote on the American Health Care Act because of a lack of support. Conservatives and more moderate Republicans had opposing concerns about the bill, which is widely disliked by House Democrats.
Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group, said investors are worried about how the Republican-controlled Congress and White House will come together on issues including tax reform, a debt ceiling increase and a boost in infrastructure spending.
“If the Republicans are having such a difficult time making changes to something they universally agree upon, how on earth are they going to agree on the more complicated tax cut that is coming through later in the year?” Cox asked. Still, the losses were small.
Cox said stocks probably won’t fall much further if the bill ultimately fails because investors will focus on other items on Trump’s agenda.
Elsewhere, a growing boycott of YouTube advertising hurt Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which fell 1.2 percent. Companies have suspended their YouTube ad campaigns in the last week because their ads were appearing alongside offensive videos. The ads are placed automatically, and Google has said it will do more to block offensive videos.