Stocks fall after Steven Mnuchin's strange declaration that he can not calm the markets


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The Dow, which had jumped 22,000 for the first time in September 2017, recovered slightly but remained below about 200 points in the late morning. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq have fallen.

Mnoutchin on Sunday issued an unusual statement claiming he had called the CEOs of the country's largest banks. He said the leaders assured him that their banks were in good health and had "sufficient liquidity" to lend to consumers and businesses. "Markets continue to function properly," he said.

Leaders of large banks who spoke by phone Sunday with Mnuchin were "utterly bewildered" by the session, according to a person familiar with the call, who said the leaders had found the meeting confusing and largely unnecessary.

"It was totally out of the left field and a strange thing to do," said the person, calling it strange the moment of the call, a Sunday before the markets opened. All were surprised by the public nature of Mnuchin's tweet.

On Monday, shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC) and Citi (C) all lost ground.

"This is the type of ad that raises the question of whether the Treasury believes that the rest of the market is lacking," said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Cowen & Co. in a note to customers. "Not only has he consulted with the larger banks, but he is talking to all financial regulators on Christmas Eve, we do not consider this type of announcement to be constructive."

Mnuchin plans to call Monday a phone call with the president's working group on financial markets, which includes the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the main regulators of markets and companies.

Inventories announce the worst month of December since the Great Depression. On Friday, the Dow ended its worst week since 2008. The Nasdaq is in a bear market.
Presidents play with fire when they brag about the stock market

Adding to Monday's shaky start: The partial closure of the federal government will continue until at least Thursday, and possibly until January. Although the closure of some utilities should not hurt the economy, the inability of lawmakers and President Donald Trump to set aside the policy to adopt a budget is baffling investors.

"The confusion and disorder surrounding this week's spending debate suggests that the 2019 budget deadline – including the cut-off date of the debt limit, which should be between August and October – could be more disturbing than they have been since 2011-2013, "said Goldman Sachs. economists have written in a research note.
The sale of shares partly reflects the concern over the impending slowdown in economic growth. Investor worries were exacerbated last week when the US Federal Reserve announced no slowdown in its intention to continue raising interest rates next year. The market is also reacting to the Trump administration's trade war with China. The trade war helped to turn the Chinese stock market into a bear market during the summer.
Some veterans of the market, however, say that the panic on Wall Street is prematurely preparing for a recession that may not affect before 2020.

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