Trump is seized by market volatility and its role



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WASHINGTON – As the stock market turned around this week, President Trump anxiously urged advisors both at the White House and outside the White House to confirm his talks with China would not result in the sale.

At a "historic" meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the weekend, Mr. Trump wondered why the markets were not reacting more positively to the situation. announces its potential breakthrough with Beijing. After consulting with advisors, he remained convinced that volatility was not his business, but the product of the Federal Reserve's plan to raise the benchmark interest rate.

But investors – and many within his government – have seen it differently. Almost as soon as Mr. Trump declared himself "tariff man" on Twitter on Tuesday, saying he would be ready to slap additional tariffs on China if he did not keep his promises, the stock price had fallen . These worries intensified on Thursday after the arrest of a senior executive of Huawei Technologies Co., which caused a stock plunge for most of the day.

In public, Mr. Trump often rejected market fluctuations in the natural setting correction, but several close to the president say that he attaches as much importance to the health of the Dow index Jones Industrial Average at the validation of his performance as the figures of his polls.

At the White House, he will often keep the TV hooked up on professional channels and watch the minute-by-minute movements of the Dow, say people close to the White House. He would be excited about the three-figure gains in one day and would ask his staff about how certain actions might influence the market, say people familiar with the subject. Asked about Mr. Trump's attention to the stock market, a White House relative said, "He's stuck to the question."

At the end of last year, while stocks had climbed to record times, Mr. Trump repeatedly drew parallels between US policies and the market value of US companies, tweeting more than a dozen times on market performance only in November and December 2017.

"The Dow has crossed the bar of 24,000 units for the first time (another record)," he tweeted November 2017. "If the Dems had won the presidential election, the market would be down 50% from these levels and consumer confidence, which is also at its highest level, would be "weak and gloomy!"

Even as the nation prepared to mourn the fire President George HW Bush Wednesday morning, China and the s trade negotiations weighed heavily in Mr. Trump 's mind.

"I do not want to sound naive, but I believe President Xi meant everything he said at our long and historic meeting, hopefully" felt more optimistic after the publication by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce of a statement recognizing the 90-day deadline set by Washington to allow a period of negotiations.

Anxious investors were partly concerned that the White House would take a hard line. its efforts to ease trade tensions without an agreement between the two countries on certain fundamental issues.

"It does not seem like anything was agreed at dinner [at the G-20 in Buenos Aires] and White House officials jostle each other in pretzels to reconcile Trump's tweets (which seem like they're not completely manufactured) then grossly exaggerated), "

JP Morgan

wrote in his negotiating note on Tuesday.

US. Stock markets have been making waves this week with seemingly positive news on the trade, followed by President Trump on Twitter, claiming he's still a "tariff man". Tensions between China and the United States, as well as concerns about economic growth and the technology sector, are causing more volatility for investors. Composite Photo: Crystal Tai

Even if an agreement can be reached, there is no guarantee that the markets will react as the White House would like. Volatility and price fluctuations have returned to Wall Street this year for a host of reasons, leaving some investors worried that a recession will be inevitable. In October, the Dow fell 5.1%, its worst month since the 2008 financial crisis, as investors pulled out of riskier assets because of rising interest rates and signs of slowdown in global growth.

He quickly claimed credit for the market. rallies, Mr. Trump has repeatedly pointed out elsewhere when stocks are falling. His favorite goal: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Mr Trump criticized for his decision to raise the interest rate.

"Whenever we do something great, it raises interest rates," Trump told The Wall Street Journal. in an interview in October, he added that Mr. Powell "seemed almost happy to raise interest rates", neither Mr. Powell nor the Federal Reserve commented after the president's public comments.

million. Trump also said that the October sale was a reaction to the Democratic Party's election victories, which was a cause of volatility.

"The prospect of presidential harassment on the part of the Dems causes big headaches on the stock market!"

Democrats won the majority of seats in the House in November, highlighting partisan divisions in Washington and jeopardizing its legislative agenda during its tenure, including adopting some of its business initiatives.

The decision of the administration to announce the success of its weekend meeting with China, in the absence of any concrete action, has been widely recognized by Wall Street. Morgan Stanley analysts said this reflects the "market-responsive" approach to policymaking.

Nomura Securities said this was "another indication that President Trump is sensitive to the market and the economic disruptions his trade policy can generate. This sensitivity perhaps suggests that he has limitations on how he will push these policies. "

Treasure Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking at the Wall Street Journal's Board of CEOs in Washington on Tuesday, acknowledged that" the (stock market) market is now in a difficult situation. " and see »when it comes to China:" Will there be a real agreement after 90 days or not? "

Write to Vivian Salama at [email protected]

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