By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Thursday, with stocks poised to see further downside on the heels of the sell-off seen in the previous session. Concerns about President Donald Trump’s ability to implement his pro-business policy agenda may generate continued selling pressure following a recent string of damaging news.
Buckling to outside pressure, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller to serve as Special Counsel to oversee the investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election.
Rosenstein said public interest requires him to place the investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.
The move comes on the heels of reports Trump asked former FBI Director Comey to drop a federal investigation into links between former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Russia.
Following the lacklustre performance seen on Tuesday, stocks moved substantially lower during trading on Wednesday. With the steep drop on the day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back well off yesterday’s record closing high.
The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow tumbled 372.82 points or 1.8 percent to 20,606.93, the Nasdaq plunged 158.63 points or 2.6 percent to 6,011.24 and the S&P 500 slumped 43.64 points or 1.8 percent to 2,357.03.
The sell-off on Wall Street came as ongoing political turmoil in Washington further offset optimism about President Donald Trump’s ability to implement tax reform and deregulation.
In the latest headache for the White House, reports claim Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to quash an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
A report from the New York Times cited a memo Comey purportedly wrote shortly after an Oval Office meeting he had with Trump in February.
The White House has denied the report, saying, “The president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn.”
The latest developments come on the heels of the uproar over Trump’s firing of Comey as well as claims the president revealed highly classified information to Russian officials.
Financial stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day amid concerns about the outlook for President Trump’s policy agenda.
Reflecting the weakness in the financial sector, the Dow Jones Banks Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index tumbled by 4 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumping by 4.4 percent. The index pulled back off its best closing level in over sixteen years.
Internet, transportation, computer hardware, and biotechnology stocks also saw significant weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Meanwhile, gold stocks bucked the downtrend, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 1.4 percent. The strength in the sector came amid a sharp increase by the price of gold.
Adedapo Adesanya