President Donald Trump on Christmas Day hailed U.S. companies as “the greatest in the world,” adding that they present a “tremendous opportunity to buy” for investors.
“I have great confidence in our companies. We have companies, the greatest in the world, and they’re doing really well. They have record kinds of numbers. So I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to buy,” Trump said, according to a report on Reuters website.
Investors have been forced to trade choppily since later September, mainly due to uncertainty surrounding the trade war between the U.S. and China, along with the Fed’s decision to increase raise interest rates. Big-cap tech companies have also created panic in the market because their stocks have been among the biggest decliners, after reporting earnings that investors saw as disappointing.
Trump on Tuesday took aim at the Jerome Powell-led Federal Reserve for raising interest rates too fast. Speaking to reports at the Oval Office on Tuesday, he said the central bank is hiking rates because they think the economy is so good. The President said Powell and his team “will get it pretty soon.”
The lagged effects of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are beginning to weigh on the stock market. A survey carried out by Bespoke Investment Group shows that Wall Street does not like the decisions that the Fed is making under the leadership of Jerome Powell. In a note to clients on December 19, the firm said, “The S&P 500 has now fallen for a record 7th straight Fed Day, which is a streak that began when Powell became Chair.”
During the pre-holiday shortened session on Monday, Dec. 24, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave away more than 650 points as investors grappled with news that Trump held a private discussion about the possibility of ousting Mr. Powell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed about 20% below its all-time high from late September, while the Nasdaq Composite closed 23% from its record peak.
Markets are also weighing the implications of a federal government shutdown, which is likely to extend into January. The shutdown might trigger a high-stakes spending debate when Democrats take control of the House next year. More than 420,000 people working for the government across numerous agencies during the shutdown won’t receive their pay immediately.