Wall Street stocks were muted on Thursday as investors assessed a narrow vote to approve Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill and what it means for the growing US debt pile.

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks closed lower as traders digested the latest UK borrowing figures for April and PMI data.

According to the Office for National Statistics, UK government borrowing rose to £20.2bn during the month — £1bn more than the previous year, and the fourth-highest April borrowing since monthly records began in 1993. This was also up from £16.4bn in March.

In a blow to chancellor Rachel Reeves, city economists had forecast a deficit of around £18bn.

ONS deputy director for public sector finances Rob Doody said: “Receipts were up on last April, thanks partly to the higher rate of national insurance contributions. However, this was outweighed by greater spending, due to rising public services’ running costs and increases in many benefits and state pensions.”

Meanwhile, the latest poll of purchasing managers at UK companies found that private sector output is decreasing in May, although at a slower rate than in April.