Stocks fall after tweet by Trump |
In a series of tweets, Trump said:
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win,
we will pass a major stimulus bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and small business.”
The comments from the president came just hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell urged Congress to come through with more aid, saying that too little support “would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses.”
The S&P 500 fell 47.66 points to 3,360.97. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 375.88 points, or 1.3%, to 27,772.76. It had been up by more than 200 points. The Nasdaq composite lost 177.88 points, or 1.6%, to 11,154.60. The tech-heavy index had been on pace for a 0.5% gain before Trump cut off the stimulus talks.
Small stocks also fell, but less than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks gave up 4.67 points, or 0.3%, to 1,577.29.
Stocks had been drifting between small gains and losses for much of the day before gaining momentum into the late afternoon, then Trump’s tweets knocked the market into reverse gear. The move to nix the negotiations with Democrats dashes Wall Street’s hopes that another round of stimulus would soon be on the way.