Stock Market Reverses Gains After Trump Slams Fed

The stock market pared its gains after President Trump slammed the Federal Reserve on Twitter, warning the central bank not to "blow it." | Source: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

The Dow Jones and other bellwether stock market indices pared gains on Friday after President Trump slammed the Federal Reserve in a classic morning tweetstorm.

Trump Bashes Federal Reserve

Trump continued his long streak of Fed-bashing by laying into the central bank for raising interest rates in 2018 amid the stock market’s precipitous downturn.

“Had they not acted so fast and ‘so much,’ we would be doing even better than we are doing right now,” he seethed. “This is our chance to build unparalleled wealth and success for the U.S., GROWTH, which would greatly reduce % debt. Don’t blow it!”

The president further said that he agreed with New York Fed President John Williams that the Fed had raised rates too aggressively. However, according to a New York Fed spokesperson, that’s not actually what Williams meant – even if Wall Street had initially interpreted it that way.

Stock Market Pares Gains

The Dow, which had surged 100 points at the open, slashed that rally in half about the time that Trump took to Twitter.

However, the stock market appeared to regain its footing in short order. At last check, the Dow had gained 69.09 points or 0.25% to hold at 27,292.06. The S&P 500 added 6.71 points or 0.22% to sneak across the 3,000 point mark to 3,001.91. The Nasdaq outperformed with a 30.41 point or 0.37% jump to 8,237.66.

Click here for a real-time Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) price chart.