Wall Street had another volatile session on Tuesday, starting the day up sharply, then settling in the red, before ending up in scattered order at the close. Investors were worried about the threats of shutdown by Donald Trump. But the president then mixed his remarks by saying think about the options proposed by the Democrats. Automotive stocks benefited from China’s confirmation that it would remove surcharges on imports of US vehicles. The dollar rose, as did oil, while European stock markets ended sharply higher, hoping for progress in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
The Dow-Jones index ended 0.2 percent lower at 24,370.24 points. The broad-based S & P 500 went down slightly to 2636.78 points and the Nasdaq index added 0.2 percent to 7031.83 points.
Donald Trump has again created turmoil by threatening to “shutdown” (closing) major federal administrations to lobby for financing the wall he has committed to build between the United States and Mexico.
After a tense conversation with two senior Democratic parliamentary officials, the president said he would be “proud to close the government for border security” if he does not get the funds he claims to build the wall, one of his main election promises. However, after these threats, Donald Trump said he was considering the options proposed by the Democrats to partially finance the wall, which has calmed the discussion to certain extent.
The US Congress is currently working to finalize discussions on spending in the next budget before certain federal funding expires on December 21.
Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday, driven by the rise in European stock markets, as well as a drop in Libyan production and a gradual reduction in Russian production. The January contract on US light crude (WTI) returned 1.27% to $51.65 per barrel, while the Brent maturing in February recovered 0.38% to $60.20.
