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Apr 3, 2018 - Economy & Business

Trump's impulses help to fuel Wall Street selloff

Axios
A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Bloomberg presents this stunning datapoint: "U.S. stocks had their worst April start since 1929."

The big picture: "The president — who frequently touted Wall Street’s rally following his 2016 election victory — was partly blamed for a sharp stock selloff ... that investors believe is likely to continue, deepening cracks in a nine-year-old bull run," per Reuters.

  • "The selling was sparked by escalating fears of a trade war ... and by Trump’s renewed criticism of Amazon."
  • Doug Kass, president of Seabreeze Partners Management in Palm Beach: “The president’s behavior is now beginning to impact the capital markets — both the averages and individual equities."
  • Michael Purves, chief global strategist at Weeden & Co. in New York: “Selling tech is not a sector rotation story, it's a sell-the-market story.”

At the close yesterday, CNBC was rocking a red "MARKET SELL-OFF" graphic:

  • "Financials down 10.6% from Jan. 26th 52-week high."
  • "Dow, S&P and NASDAQ close in correction territory."
  • "20% of S&P's tech sector enters bear market territory."
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