Thanks to this week’s litany of Trump controversies—from the repercussions over Comey’s firing to Trump’s admission of leaking classified information and his request to end the FBI’s investigation into Michael Flynn—U.S. stocks have taken a bit of a tumble. According to Bloomberg Markets, the U.S. stock market has dipped to its lowest point since March. By Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a 250-point loss with the American dollar dropping in value for six consecutive days.
Persistent denial from White House staff only added fuel to the economic fire, causing alarm among investors. As Oanda senior trader Stephen Innes told CNN Money, “The inflammable allegations have spooked both currency and equity markets. Foreign exchange dealers are in flat out sell-the-dollar mode.” By Tuesday, the dollar’s value plummeted to levels economists haven’t seen since the turbulent days immediately following Trump’s electoral win, effectively becoming weaker in comparison to other currencies.
White House controversies combined with Europe’s recent economic growth have put American stocks in dangerous territory, CNN Money reports. What’s more, economists have been disenchanted by Trump’s failure to follow through on the tax-cutting, infrastructure-boosting campaign promises they once hoped could be a boon to the economy. Equity sales trader Michael Antonelli told MarketWatch, “The big selloff in banking stocks suggests that the market now believes that no tax or regulatory reforms are coming.”
According to several experts, there’s a good chance the U.S. stock market can recover as long as the White House manages to avoid further scandal. Now might be a good time to consider investing in gold.