Wall Street steady again after Trump downplays threat to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's job

Washington, Jul 17 (AP) Wall Street appears calm after President Donald Trump walked back his earlier threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
    Futures for the S&P 500 were unchanged before the opening bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2 per cent. Nasdaq futures rose less than 0.1 per cent, essentially flat.
    Trump has harshly criticised Powell and his Fed colleagues for the decision to stand pat on interest rates at a time when the economy is broadly healthy and unemployment is low. Trump's new complaint about Powell — which he says could be grounds for firing the central bank chief — is about cost overruns on the USD 2.5 billion renovation project at the Fed's Washington headquarters.
    Wall Street loves lower rates because they goose prices higher for stocks and other investments, and Trump himself has been clamouring for the Fed to cut more quickly. But Powell has insisted he wants to wait for more data about how Trump's stiff tariffs will affect the economy and inflation.
    Markets, as well as the dollar, took a quick dive Wednesday on reports that Trump was talking about terminating Powell, but largely recovered after he appeared to walk back those sentiments.
    A number of companies early in the earnings season have been reporting strong performances, even as they cite uncertainty about the near future due to the potential impacts of Trump's tariffs.
    PepsiCo shares rose 2 per cent before the bell Thursday after the beverage and snack giant's second-quarter sales and profit topped Wall Street projections. PepsiCo reaffirmed its April guidance, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending.
    The world's largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), reported huge increases in sales and profit from a year ago, sending its stock up 3.4 per cent in early trading. However, TSMC, a major supplier for Nvidia, warned that “uncertainties and risks from the potential impact from tariff policies exist.”
    Shares of United Airlines, which reported after the bell Wednesday, dipped 1.6 per cent overnight after the carrier's second-quarter revenue came in a touch lower than expected. United also cut its full-year profit guidance.
    Also falling early Thursday are shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland and Ingredion, makers of high fructose corn syrup. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the US at his suggestion — though the company has yet to confirm that.
    Ingredion tumbled almost 6 per cent early Thursday, and Archer-Daniels-Midland fell 3 per cent.
    Netflix reports earnings after markets close.
    New data on jobs and retail sales are due early Thursday as well.
    In Europe at midday, Germany's DAX gained 0.8 per cent, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.9 per cent and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.4 per cent.
    Asian markets also were mostly higher.
    Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6 per cent to 39,901.19 after the government reported a trade deficit for the first half of the year as Japan's exports to the United States took a hit from Trump's tariffs.
    The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed early gains to close down 0.1 per cent at 24,498.95, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4 per cent to 3,516.83.
    Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9 per cent to 8,639.00.
    In South Korea, the Kospi climbed 0.2 per cent to 3,192.29.
    India's Sensex lost 0.3 per cent while the SET in Bangkok jumped 3.3 per cent on strong gains for market heavyweights like Airports of Thailand and Delta Electronics.
    US benchmark crude oil gained 30 cents to USD 66.68 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 6 cents to USD 68.58 per barrel.
    The US dollar rose to 148.73 Japanese yen from 147.89 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1579 from USD 1.1641. (AP)
    
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)