Shrugging off impeachment | Trade deal ‘sooner than you think’?

Shrugging off impeachment | Trade deal ‘sooner than you think’? | CEO exodus

WED, SEP 25, 2019

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF WED, SEP 25, 2019 • 04:00 ET

DJIA		26971.02
		+0.61%	+163.25

S&P 500		2984.91
		+0.62%	+18.31

NASDAQ		8077.38
		+1.05%	+83.76

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
NKE	90.79	+3.61	+4.14%
AAPL	221.03	+3.35	+1.54%
MSFT	139.36	+1.98	+1.44%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AMD	29.54	+0.02	+0.07%
BAC	29.27	+0.33	+1.14%
GE	9.16	+0.19	+2.12%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AMD	29.54	+0.02	+0.07%
MU	49.47	+0.96	+1.98%
AAPL	221.03	+3.35	+1.54%

EDITOR'S NOTE

Stocks rebounded Wednesday as traders' focus turned from pessimism over a possible impeachment, to optimism on the trade war.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the formal impeachment inquiry on Tuesday evening after accusations that President Donald Trump tried to coerce the head of Ukraine to investigate the family of former Vice President Joe Biden. Other Democrats have long called for an impeachment inquiry over Trump's alleged abuses of power.

But Wall Street investment banks are telling clients not to worry about what that all means for Trump's presidency. Several firms assured their clients that it's unlikely a Republican Senate would ever convict the president, CNBC's Tom Franck writes.

What they should pay attention to, according to Washington policy analysts, is the effect on trade deals. Pelosi's step toward a possible impeachment could disrupt a potential agreement with China and an already agreed-upon deal with Canada and Mexico. Analysts also said investors can forget about any new legislation like a drug prescription policy.

For now, "legislating is dead," according to Raymond James policy analysts Ed Mills and Chris Meekins. Impeachment will lead to "Congress doing nothing except that which it must do by established deadlines (like funding the government)," the two wrote in a note to clients.

Stocks rallied on hopes of a trade deal after Trump told reporters at the United Nations in New York that a U.S.-China agreement could come sooner "than you think." The comments sent the Dow into positive territory.

The remarks weren't enough to convince some high-profile investors who are skeptical that the president's words (and tweets) on trade have teeth. Short seller Jim Chanos said the jump in U.S. stocks was a gullible response to Trump's hinting of a resolution to the trade dispute. As Chanos said in a tweet, "...3...2...1...The stock market falls for the 'China Trade Deal' line again."

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