S&P in Red Amid Powell Firing Threats

Stocks dipped on Wednesday as President Donald Trump appeared to move closer toward firing Jerome Powell from his post as Federal Reserve chairman, raising concern over the central bank’s independence going forward.

The Dow Jones Industrials lost 96.5 points to break for lunch Wednesday at 43,926.79.

The S&P 500 index dipped 18.43 points to 6,225.33.

The NASDAQ Composite dropped 79.68 points to 20,598.13

A White House official told reporters that Trump said to GOP lawmakers that he would remove Powell as Fed chair. “The President asked lawmakers how they felt about firing the Fed Chair. They expressed approval for firing him. The President indicated he likely will soon,” said the official.

Separately, the New York Times reported that Trump has gone so far to draft a letter for firing Powell and showed it to lawmakers during that meeting. A set timeline for Powell’s dismissal does not appear imminent, however, the official told the media.

For weeks, Trump has been pushing for Powell’s ouster, calling for the Fed to lower rates substantially. On Tuesday, he said the Fed should cut rates by three percentage points.

However, Powell earlier this month confirmed that the central bank would have already eased monetary policy were it not for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Prices for the 10-year treasury gained ground, pushing down yields to 4.47% from Tuesday’s 4.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices sank 84 cents to $65.68 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices recharged $40.40 to $3,377.10 U.S. an ounce.