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US stocks rise in volatile trading
US stocks rose during the closing session on Wednesday, July 16, as US President Donald Trump denied plans to fire Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve, but traders remained concerned about the possibility of him carrying out such a move.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 231 points, or about 0.5%, and the S&P 500 rose about 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite rose about 0.3%.
A senior White House official told Republican lawmakers that Trump would "probably soon" fire Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Separately, the New York Times reported that Trump had even drafted a letter to fire Powell and presented it to lawmakers during that meeting.
However, Trump shortly afterward downplayed the reports, saying it was "highly unlikely" he would fire Powell in the near future. "No, we're not planning to do that," Trump said, adding that he "wouldn't rule anything out."
For weeks, Trump has been pushing for Powell's dismissal, calling on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates significantly. On Tuesday, he said the Fed should cut rates by three percentage points.
But Powell confirmed earlier this month that the central bank would have already eased monetary policy had it not been for the Trump administration's tariffs. "In fact, we stopped working when we saw the magnitude of the tariffs, and almost all inflation expectations in the United States have risen significantly as a result of them," Powell said.
"The markets are not going to be happy about Powell's dismissal," Larry Tintarelli, founder of the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, commented, according to CNBC. "It's obviously a political hotspot... but overall, most of the major market participants I know think Powell has done a very good job," he said.
Separately, new data this week raised concerns about persistent inflation and the impact of Trump's tariffs on the U.S. economy. The U.S. consumer price index rose in June compared to May, according to data released Tuesday.
