Saturday, August 19, 2017

Week of U.S. political drama hurts stocks, dollar

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street indexes and the U.S. dollar ended a volatile session lower after a week of drama in Washington intensified doubts about President Donald Trump's ability to deliver on pro-growth policy promises such as tax reform.
After a late morning boost on Trump's firing of controversial White House strategist Steve Bannon, the dollar and U.S. equities lost their lustre as investors were left wary after a week in which Trump alienated potential allies.
Investors also questioned how much Trump's ouster of Bannon - a conservative media entrepreneur and activist who was a darling of Trump's base - would pave the way for policies such as tax reform. [nL2N1L4106]
"It's only marginally positive as it doesn't put money in anybody's pocket in the way tax reform would," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. "There's still question marks on what this means and what other shoes are to drop."
Investor worries deepened about Trump's ability to deliver tax reform after he upset Republican colleagues, corporate leaders and overseas allies over his response to protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump drew fire after he seemed to equate protests by white nationalists with those of anti-fascist groups on Tuesday and then on Thursday decried the removal of statues that memorialize Civil War-era defenders of slavery.

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