Wednesday saw markets rally after tumbling more than 2.5 percent Monday, their worst Christmas Eve performance ever.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the blue chip index climbed 390 points, while the S&P 500 added 1.9 percent, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 2.8 percent.
The article notes that the markets were closed on Christmas Day, while “most European indexes remained shut Wednesday for Boxing Day.”
The rally comes as the markets have suffered one of the worst Decembers on record, trade worries, mixed signals from the Trump administration, along with the Trump cabinet turnovers, have fueled concern that the economy is slowing down.
As the markets enter bear territory, President Trump has been critical of the Federal Reserve and its Chairman Jerome Powell for raising interest rates, causing some to wonder if President Trump would fire Powell.
On Wednesday speaking with reporters, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett in an attempt to calm rumors of Powell’s termination, said Powell’s job was “100 percent safe,” via The Washington Post.
CNN points out that “one good day isn’t a trend,” explaining that several big foreign markets, such as, London, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong, have yet to react to the U.S. Christmas Eve sell-off, as they will not re-open until Thursday.
NBC News reports that Hassett “fired back,” against reports that President Trump was unhappy with his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin telling NBC reporter, Hans Nichols, “I am highly confident that the president is happy with Secretary Mnuchin.”
Wednesday CNN reported that according to a “source close to the White House,” Mnuchin’s position could be in “serious jeopardy,” after a series of phone calls to the nations top banks, left bank executives “totally baffled,” as the News Blender reported, the calls which Mnuchin made public, failed to prevent the Christmas Eve sell-off.
Update
At the closing bell CNBC via twitter
