Consequently, market players are growing concerned over Trump’s future ability to push through his pro-growth agenda, including tax cuts, deregulation and fiscal spending, which have helped fuel the post-election rally to record highs.
The new report on Trump’s actions also prompted some congressional Republicans to call for further investigation.
“The bigger picture here is it puts another dent in the likelihood of getting a Congressional majority to pass Trump’s agenda,” R.J. Grant, head of equity trading at KBW Inc., told the Wall Street Journal.
The strong corporate earnings also helped support U.S. market’s lofty valuations. The S&P 500 trades at nearly 18 times forward earnings, compared to its long-term average valuation of 15 times. With earnings season more or less over, traders are refocusing on other short-term triggers like political risk.
“We’re largely through the earnings season, so political uncertainty is probably going to be the largest source of risk in the next three to six months.” Bryan added.
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