Business
Asian shares mostly higher after Trump says he discussed firing Fed Chair Powell
Federico DeMarco, left, and Ed Curran work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on July 16. (AP)
BANGKOK, July 17, (AP): World shares were mostly higher Thursday while US futures were mixed after President Donald Trump rocked Wall Street by saying he had “talked about the concept of firing” the head of the Federal Reserve, but was unlikely to do so. Removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell might help Wall Street get the lower interest rates investors love but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX gained 0.8% to 24,209.08, while the CAC 40 in Paris also rose 0.8%, to 7,785.91. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.4% to 8,960.99. The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%. Asian markets also were mostly higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% to 39,901.19 after the government reported a trade deficit for the first half of the year as Japan’s exports to the United States took a hit from Trump’s tariffs.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed early gains to close down 0.1% at 24,498.95, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 3,516.83. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 8,639.00. In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.2% to 3,192.29. India’s Sensex lost 0.3% while the SET in Bangkok jumped 3.3% on strong gains for market heavyweights like Airports of Thailand and Delta Electronics.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and the Dow industrials added 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.3% to a fresh record of 20,730.49. Stocks were rising modestly in the morning before news reports saying that Trump was likely to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell quickly sent the S&P 500 down by 0.7%. When later asked directly if he was planning to fire Powell, Trump said, “I don’t rule out anything, but I think it’s highly unlikely.”
That helped calm the market, and stocks erased their losses, though Trump added that he could still fire Powell if “he has to leave for fraud.” Trump has been criticizing a $2.5 billion renovation project of the Fed’s headquarters. Trump is unhappy that the Fed has not cut interest rates this year, a move that would have made it easier for U.S. households and businesses to get loans to buy houses, build factories and otherwise boost the economy.
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