The job of a Wall Street trader is one that’s full of rewards, risk, and incredible stress. One wrong buy or sell can cost you and your firm millions of dollars and leave your clients financially busted.
And now some traders are complaining that President Donald Trump is making their jobs even more difficult, Bloomberg reports:
For investors who were already unsure whether to ride this rally or run from it, the last five days have been a wake-up call. Not a tipping point, necessarily — most said they were too shocked by the torrent of headlines to do much — but it hasn’t made the decisions any easier. How will tariffs influence corporate earnings? The economy? Is Trump pursuing sound policy, or just campaigning?
Paul Nolte said he saw Trump’s tweets about escalating his trade war with China last Sunday and immediately knew the market was in for a bad week:
“Have you ever seen the movie ‘Airplane’? It was just a bad week to stop sniffing glue. When that got announced, it was like, well, this is going to be a volatile week.”
And a bad week was indeed in the cards, thanks in large part to a new round of tariffs — $200 billion total — Trump imposed on China and said he might increase in order to get his way with the ongoing trade talks members of his administration are holding with their Chinese counterparts:
After rising for 54 of the first 85 days, the S&P 500 slid for four straight sessions before a reprieve on Friday. Swings in U.S. futures were 77% wider than the average this year. Yep — President Donald Trump was back to waging a trade war on Twitter, making lives interesting in the equity class.
Other traders say this president has fundamentally changed the way they do business. Jack Ablin, Chief Investment Officer at Cresset Wealth Advisers, commented:
“If I were younger and looking at a short-term time horizon, I’d be pulling my hair out. But I hate to say, after decades of being in the business, Trump’s Twitter is part of my strategy. You look at income statements, balance sheets, and then you check his Twitter account.”
As the Trump trade war drags on and the president lashes out at China and other trade partners on social media, we could be facing the biggest threat of all: A complete meltdown of the stock market. If that happens, Trump’s re-election plans may wind up being as uncertain as his daily moods on Twitter.
Featured Image Via CNBC
