Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures moved little on Wednesday evening amid persistent concerns over high U.S. debt levels, with focus squarely on President Donald Trump’s tax cut bill, which investors fear could increase government spending.

Futures steadied after a deeply negative session on Wall Street, as a mix of high yields and concerns over the U.S. economy battered markets. Technology stocks largely underperformed, seeing some profit-taking before key earnings from  Nvidia Corp  (NASDAQ:NVDA) due next week.

S&P 500 Futures fell slightly to 5,859.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.1% to 21,142.75 points by 20:03 ET (00:03 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.1% to 41,904.0 points.

Wall St slides on higher yields, tech losses

Weakness in futures came after Wall Street clocked steep losses during Wednesday’s session, as investors continued to fret over high government debt levels following a downgrade to the U.S. sovereign credit rating by Moody’s.

The downgrade came just as a House of Representatives committee approved a sweeping tax cut bill backed by Trump for a full floor vote. The vote on the bill could take place as soon as this week.

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Passage of the tax bill has also become a key point of uncertainty for markets, amid concerns that cuts to taxes will slash federal revenues and further increase the government’s dependence on debt.

Trump has so far claimed that his trade tariffs will help overcome the fiscal shortfall stemming from his tax cuts. But revenue from his tariffs so far has been a fraction of the amount required to improve the government’s fiscal health.

A spike in Treasury yields- which came amid an extended selldown in the bond market- reflected increasing investor anxiety over the U.S. economy. The Treasury’s $16 billion sale of 20-year bonds also saw soft demand from investors.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% to 5,844.55 points, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 1.4% to 18,872.64 points on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.9% to 41,860 points.

Consumer fears grow as  Target  slashes outlook

Concerns over weakening consumer spending came to fore this week, especially as supermarket operator Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) slashed its annual guidance.

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) clocked better-than-expected quarterly earnings, but flagged flat profit growth for the year amid pressure from trade tariffs.

Lowe’s rival  Home Depot  (NYSE:HD) had also clocked strong first-quarter earnings earlier this week, but had warned over the impact of tariffs on prices.

This week’s retailer earnings came after Walmart (NYSE:WMT), the world’s biggest retailer, warned last week that U.S. shoppers stood to face higher prices due to U.S. tariffs. The company, and a host of other retailers, warned that consumer demand was set to deteriorate.

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