The Dow Jones failed to show much of an opinion either way this afternoon, the index dipping just 15 points as the bell rang on Wall Street. The dollar made its views slightly clearer; the greenback fell 0.8% against the pound, 0.6% against the Japanese yen and 0.3% against the euro. And while there hasn’t been an abundance of news, Reuters had some interesting comments from Trump’s meeting with a collection of key manufacturing companies including Tesla, Johnson & Johnson and Lockheed Martin.
The President reportedly stated that he thinks his government could cut US regulations affecting companies by 75%, while emphasising that any firms that move their manufacturing facilities overseas will incur a heavy border tax. Trump did go on to say that any company wishing to build factories in the US, however, would see their plans quickly given the stamp of approval. None of this had too much of an effect on the market, but does provide a few morsels for a policy-starved US electorate.
Beyond the US, the European indices continued to react poorly to the weak dollar boosting their respective currencies. The FTSE fell half a percent in the face of cable’s 5 week high, leaving it on track for its worst finish since the first session of 2017, while the DAX and CAC both dropped by 0.4% apiece
