Investing.com – Markets fell on Wednesday amid political uncertainty after Gary Cohn resigned as the top economic adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.
The S&P 500 was down 13 points or 0.49% to 2,714.68 as of 9:43 AM ET (14:43 GMT) while the Dow composite decreased 152 points or 0.61% to 24,731.57, and tech heavy NASDAQ Composite slumped 23 points or 0.31% to 7,348.84.
Markets have been on edge since last week when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would impose 25% import tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:NYSE:GS) executive, was largely against the tariffs. Investors worry that his resignation could mean Trump will pass the tariffs and create a trade war.
Trump is expected to finalize the tariffs later in the week and choose a National Economic Council Director to replace Cohen in the next few weeks.
Airline maker Boeing (NYSE:BA) was among the lowest performers after the morning bell, falling 1.06% while Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was down 1.46%. Streaming site Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) slumped 1.12% and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) decreased 1.50% while Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) inched down 1.07%.
Meanwhile United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) gained 2.99% and Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF) surged 8.15% after its earnings were much higher than expected.
In economic news, U.S. private employers added 235,000 jobs in February, much higher than expected. The numbers from payrolls processor ADP are a precursor to the jobs report on Friday and increase confidence on the strength of the U.S. economy.
In Europe stocks were up. In Germany the DAX rose 91 points or 0.76% while France’s CAC 40 increased 21 points or 0.42% and in London the FTSE 100 gained 2 points or 0.37%. Meanwhile Spain’s IBEX 35 was up two points or 0.02% and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 inched up 11 points or 0.35%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.28% to $1,331.50 a troy ounce while crude oil futures decreased 0.59% to $62.23 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.04% to 89.52.