Dow futures, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell more than 1% in Asian trading Wednesday morning after news broke of the resignation of Gary Cohn as Donald Trump’s special economic adviser.
Dow futures were down 360 points just after 10.30 am, the S&P lost 33 points and Nasdaq futures were off 86 points. If these falls are sustained it will be a red-ink stained session in the rest of Asia and then Europe and finally the US tonight.
The ASX 200 continued its early session fall after news of Cohn’s resignation emerged and was down more than 40 points mid morning.
Cohn was the only person who gave his White House any credibility for business and the economy.
US media reports say Cohn, President Trump’s top economic adviser, quit over Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
Trump said Cohn "did a superb job" in his position. “Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again,” Trump said. “He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.”
Cohn, a Wall Street banker who was the number 2 at Goldman Sachs, was a key architect of the 2017 tax overhaul and an opponent of the rightwing protectionist forces within the Trump administration.
This bad news for Australia and the Turnbull government’s pleas to trump to be exempted (Trump again ruled out any exemptions overnight).
RBA governor, Phil Lowe criticised the proposal tariffs at a conference in Sydney on Wednesday. He said the tariffs could trigger a “very big shock” for the world economy.
