Dow futures tumble after Gary Cohn quits White House
Gary Cohn’s sudden resignation as President Trump’s top economic adviser is already rattling Wall Street.
Dow futures fell more than 300 points on Tuesday evening after Cohn announced plans to step down amid a disagreement with Trump over trade policy. S&P 500 futures slid more than 1%.
The negative reaction underlines how investors have long been reassured by Cohn’s presence in the Trump administration. Many believed the former Goldman Sachs president was a moderating voice to Trump’s more aggressive views on economic policy, especially trade.
“The market looked at Gary Cohn as being the counterbalance to a pure strain of nationalism on tariffs and trade,” said Peter Kenny, chief global market strategist at Global Markets Advisory Group.
Cohn’s exit from the White House also signals he may have lost a bruising fight with rivals inside the administration on tariffs. Cohn had been trying to soften Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on aluminum and steel that some Republicans and business executives fear could spark a trade war.
Related: Trump’s tariffs could ricochet in coal country
Trump’s tariff announcement last week spooked Wall Street, which began to worry about a potential trade war. The markets bounced back on Monday, when investors thought that House Speaker Paul Ryan and others would succeed in softening Trump’s stance on tariffs.
“This trade issue really strikes fear into the market because it’s an unknown,” said Kenny. “It’s a variable markets will have difficulty pricing in.”
The reaction from major stock indexes in Asia was muted. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng swung between small gains and losses on Wednesday morning.
In his statement on Tuesday, Cohn said it’s been an “honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people.”
Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, sent out a tweet on Tuesday crediting Cohn for his service and saying he is “disappointed to see him leave.”
