The Dow plunged by 150 points after the bell, US investors equally unhappy with the instability brought on by Trump’s actions as their European cousins. Now, the fact that a potentially March rate-hike signalling Fed meeting looms on Wednesday, alongside the first Trump-era non-farm jobs report on Friday, may have something to do with the Dow’s losses. However, there is no doubt that the main catalyst for the drop has been the Muslim travel ban executive order from the President, not for moral reasons that have caused outrage elsewhere but instead the potential ramifications it could have for trade from the Middle East and elsewhere.
With the Dow dipping below its landmark 20000 level there was no reason for the European indices to change tack this afternoon. The FTSE maintained a 0.8% decline as the day went on, keeping the UK index at a 2017 low despite the pound’s own slide against the dollar and euro. The DAX and CAC, meanwhile, gradually saw their losses intensify after the US open; the German and French indices are now both down 1.1%.
