Tensions between the White House and Federal Reserve ratcheted up a notch ahead of the Easter holiday as US President Donald Trump said the central bank chair’s exit can’t come fast enough.
Trump took to the Truth Social platform to complain about Fed chair Jerome Powell’s reluctance to cut interest rates, following a speech by the central banker saying he was in no rush to ease up monetary policy having been surprised by the extent of the White House’s tariff regime.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has discussed removing Powell before his term expires, but hasn’t decided on whether to do so, which would likely end up before the Supreme Court given it’s never been tried before.
The European Central Bank cut its key rate for a seventh time, and traders are betting on steeper cuts ahead.
The kiwi dollar continued to outperform, rising to its highest level since mid-November and trading at 59.64 US cents at 9.30am in Auckland from 59.10 cents yesterday.
Stocks on Wall Street were mixed as the S&P 500 was bolstered by a surging Eli Lilly after a successful trial of its weight-loss and diabetes pill.
Meanwhile, a soft earnings outlook from UnitedHealth and a federal ruling that Alphabet's Google created a monopoly to control parts of online advertising weighed on the broader markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite both ending the day lower.
Nvidia also sank as trade tensions remain top of mind, while Trump said he’s been in contact with China’s government several times and is optimistic a deal can be reached with the world’s second-biggest economy.
After the bell, Netflix beat analysts’ expectations and provided an upbeat revenue outlook.
Markets in Europe, Australia and New Zealand are closed on Friday and Monday, while Wall Street is closed on Friday and back to work on Monday.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Jonathan Ardila on Unsplash.
