White House mayhem: VIX spiking, but dollar higher, stocks and USD/JPY recovering from major sell-off
|There have been two key headlines in the recent trade that had propelled the yen higher that had already been under demand and that had sent stocks into a nosedive.
The New York Times cited two people briefed on John Dowd resigning as Trump's top lawyer in the Mueller probe, reading:
"The president’s lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation, John Dowd, resigned on Thursday, according to two people briefed on the matter, days after the president called for an end to the inquiry.
Mr. Dowd, who took over the president’s legal team last summer, had considered leaving several times in recent months and ultimately concluded that Mr. Trump was increasingly ignoring his advice, one of the people said. The president was said to be pleased with Mr. Dowd’s resignation, as he had grown frustrated with him, particularly over the weekend when Mr. Dowd called on the Justice Department to end the special counsel investigation. Mr. Dowd said at first that he was speaking for the president, but later backtracked." Reuters spoke with Dowd and he confirmed that he's stepping down. "I love the President and wish him well," he said.
Another political turn of events comes with the White House taking step to restrict Chinese investment and put tariffs on $50B in Chinese imports for stealing technology.
Meanwhile, volatility is spiking, with the VIX at 21.77 and with a Price increase of 3.91 or 21.89 % while the DJIA fell 446 points, or 1.8%, to 24,240, (on the verge of putting in its worst March since 2001), but then bouncing from 24180 to current 24377 having been on track for its lowest close since early February. The S&P 500 dropped 42 points, or 1.6%, to 2,669, turning negative for 2018 before bouncing from 2659 to 2681 and the Nasdaq losing 127 points, or 1.7%, to 7,216. USD/JPY has recovered from the lows of 105.25 to 105.66 at the time of writing as the DXY gathers back towards the 90.00 handle, up +0.17% at 89.93 within a day's range of between 89.396 - 89.960.
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