Wall Street benchmarks print record closes, DJIA +31 points

US stocks ended a touch higher on Monday, fulled by sentiment for politicisation of the Federal Reserve on news that the President, Trump, Federal Reserve chairman, Powell, and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin had been in a meeting discussing the strength of the US dollar and Fed rates. 

Stock benchmarks on Wall Street, subsequently, were printing record closes as investors also weighed up the prospects of a trade deal between the US and China. The S&P 500 added less than 0.1%, to end at 3,122 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or DJIA, put on 31 points, or 0.1%, to close around 28,036. The Nasdaq Composite added 9 points, or 0.1%, to end near 8,550.

US stocks rose to all-time highs last Friday following Trump’s advisor Kudlow saying that the arrangements were in their “final stages,” while US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross remarked that a trade deal would be done “in all likelihood”. However, according to CNBC today, sources had warned that the Chinese were concerned over Trump's earlier comments this month whereby he said that there was no agreement on phasing out tariffs. The Chinese are also carefully looking at the political situation in the U.S. including the impeachment hearings and the presidential election, according to CNBC's Chinese sources.

Fed and White House meet

Elsewhere, The US dollar was a touch softer on the news that the Fed Chairman Powell met with US President Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. "It was reported that Powell’s assessment of the economy at the meeting was in line with his Congressional testimony last week and everything, including negative interest rates and dollar strength, were discussed. We doubt that there will be any change to Fed guidance, but that didn’t prevent the market from pricing some politicisation of the Fed," analysts at ANZ Bank explained. 

DJIA levels