Fed rumours shake markets, Wall Street rises

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would love for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign but acknowledged that many have said it would disrupt the markets if the president were to remove him. Trump made the comments in an interview with the Real America's Voice network aired on Wednesday.

The comments sparked market turmoil in both bond and strock markets but Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, 16 July, with the Nasdaq Composite hitting a fresh record, despite a brief period of volatility earlier in the day.

However, calm was restored after it was clarified that the president had no plans to remove Powell from his position.

The S&P 500 index rose by 19.65 points (0.31%) to close at 6,263.41, the Nasdaq Composite gained 51.82 points (0.25%) to finish at 20,729.62, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 220.61 points (0.50%) to end at 44,243.90.

Financial analysts noted that Goldman Sachs delivered a strong quarterly report, which helped maintain optimism in the market, despite some slight weakness in investment banking. Overall, the market appears to be undergoing a phase of profit-taking at this stage.

Trump has criticized Powell on an almost daily basis in recent days for being "too late" to cut interest rates.

The White House and some Republicans have recently expressed criticism of cost overruns in a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's historic headquarters in Washington.

The criticism has confirmed the view that the Trump administration is actively exploring those costs as a possible avenue to try to fire the Fed chief well before his term as chair ends in May 2026.

There has been no evidence of fraud, and the Fed has pushed back on criticism of its handling of the project.

A Fed spokesperson had earlier pointed to Powell's repeated statements that he has no intention of resigning and would not if asked to do so.

Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by then-President Joe Biden four years later, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chief, which ends on May 15.

Trump said earlier on Wednesday he is not planning to fire Powell.
 

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