Wall Street ticked to more records on Monday after bouncing back from losses taken because of worries about the worsening feud between the White House and the Federal Reserve, one that experts warn could lead to higher inflation in the future.
The S&P 500 tacked 0.2% onto its prior all-time high set on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered an early loss of nearly 500 points and added 86, or 0.2%, to its own record, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3%.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 10.99 points to 6,977.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86.13 to 49,590.20, and the Nasdaq composite gained 62.56 to 23,733.90.
Some nervousness was still evident in the market, though, amid concern that the Fed may be on the path to less independence in setting interest rates to keep inflation under control. Prices for gold and other investments that tend to do well when investors are nervous rose, while the value of the U.S. dollar dipped against other currencies.
Walmart helped drive the US stockmarket higher despite the worries. It climbed 3% after learning that its stock will join the widely followed Nasdaq 100 index.
Along with with Google, Walmart helped offset losses for a slight majority of stocks within the S&P 500. Leading them all were credit card companies after President Donald Trump threatened moves that could eat into their profit.
But it was a separate move involving Washington that grabbed the most attention across financial markets.
Fed chair Jerome Powell subpoenaed
Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve's chair said the US Department of Justice subpoenaed the Fed and threatened a criminal indictment over his testimony about renovations at its headquarters.
Through an unusual video statement released on Sunday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said his testimony and the renovations are "pretexts" for the threat of criminal charges, which he said is really "a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President."
The Fed has been locked in a feud with Trump, who has loudly called for lower interest rates to make borrowing cheaper for US households and companies and give the economy a kickstart. The Fed did lower its main interest rate three times last year and indicated more cuts may arrive this year, but it's moved deliberately enough that Trump has nicknamed Powell "Too Late."
Associated Press
