Asian stocks waver at open after Trump-Powell saga

Shares in Japan and South Korea declined while MSCI’s broader gauge of Asian equities was flat

Asian stocks struggled for direction at the open after US markets had a volatile session amid speculation about the future of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Equity-index futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.2% in early trading Thursday following a 0.3% gain for the index after President Donald Trump played down the prospect he may soon fire Powell. Shares in Japan and South Korea declined while MSCI’s broader gauge of Asian equities was flat. A gauge of the dollar edged up 0.1% after weakening in the prior session. Treasuries dipped marginally with yields on the 10-year rising almost 1 basis point to 4.46%.

Trump said he’s “not planning on doing anything” to remove Powell, after a White House official had earlier said the president was likely to seek the Federal Reserve Chair’s ouster soon. The initial speculation sent the dollar, US stocks and Treasury yields downward before Trump’s clarification soothed market fears.

The trading action Wednesday hinted at how Wall Street would react if Trump actually removed Powell — a prospect that strategists warn would rattle global markets. Trump has repeatedly assailed Powell as the Fed has held off on cutting rates amid concern that tariffs may spur inflation. Trump and his allies have also lambasted the Fed chair over the cost of a renovation of its Washington headquarters.

“After the president’s subsequent backing off on remarks to remove Powell, the immediate crisis may have passed, though we doubt we are entirely done with this saga,” said Michael Feroli at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In tariff news, Trump dialed down his confrontational tone with China in an effort to secure a summit with counterpart Xi Jinping and a trade deal. Trump also said he would send letters to more than 150 countries notifying them of tariff rates and that the levies imposed could be 10% or 15%.

Top bosses at some of Wall Street’s biggest banks emphasized the importance of an independent Fed.

Bank of America Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s David Solomon joined JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon in stressing how critical the Fed’s autonomy is. Moynihan said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday that the Fed was “set up to be independent.”

The Fed’s independence is “absolutely critical,” Dimon at JPMorgan said on a conference call Tuesday. Meddling with the Fed “can often have adverse consequences,” he noted.

A Trump dismissal of Powell would be an underpriced risk that could trigger a selloff in the dollar and Treasuries, Deutsche Bank AG’s George Saravelos recently said. If Trump were to force Powell out, the subsequent 24 hours would probably see a drop of at least 3% to 4% in the trade-weighted dollar, as well as a 30 to 40 basis point fixed-income selloff, he said.