Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq fall as Wall Street digests Warsh as Trump's Fed pick
US stocks fell on Friday as President Trump said he would nominate Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, against a background of a rising dollar and tumbling gold.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.3%, pointing to another down session for tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dipped below the flat line.
Markets are calculating the potential impact after Trump said he has chosen frontrunner Warsh as the US central bank's next chair, in a post to Truth Social on Friday. Former Fed Governor Warsh has a hawkish record on interest rates but has recently voiced support for cuts — which Trump has aggressively campaigned for.
The dollar (DX-Y.NYB) rose on the prospect of Warsh as the Fed's leader, while the 30-year Treasury (^TYX) led gains in yields, flirting with 4.9%. Gold (GC=F) and silver (SIL=F) tumbled, putting the brakes on runaway rallies, as the dollar's advance made the precious metals more expensive for many buyers.
In addition, the watch is on for the next trade move from Trump, who threatened to hit Canada aircraft imports with a 50% tariff. The US would also decertify all new jets from the likes of Bombardier (BDRBF), Trump said, claiming Canada has used certification hurdles to effectively ban the sale of US Gulfstream jets. Meanwhile, Mexico is facing new levies after Trump promised to impose new tariffs on countries providing oil to Cuba.
On the earnings front, Apple's (AAPL) shares fell 2% after its results closed out a mixed bag of Big Tech reports for the week. While its quarterly profit topped estimates, fueled by record iPhone sales, its CEO Tim Cook warned the global memory shortage will hit future margins.