Stock Futures Fall After Trump Axes FBI Director Comey
New York (May 10) Stock futures moved lower on Wednesday after Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in a move that shocked political pundits.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.17%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.25%, and Nasdaq futures slid 0.04%.
The White House pointed to Comey's handling of the investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private email server as reason for the firing. However, Trump frequently praised Comey's decision to go public with details of the investigation on the campaign trail.
"The president has accepted the recommendation of the attorney general and the deputy attorney general regarding the dismissal of the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters in a briefing.
The FBI notified Congress earlier Tuesday that during a Capitol Hill hearing last week, Comey had misstated key findings from the agency's probe into Clinton's email server. Comey had said that "hundreds and thousands" of Clinton's emails from her time as U.S. secretary of state had been forwarded to disgraced former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner from his wife, former Clinton aide Huma Abedin. But the FBI said Tuesday that only a "small number'" actually went to Weiner.
Comey was leading an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called upon Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is currently in charge of the investigation into Russian connections, to hand off the case to a special prosecutor.
"Every American will rightly suspect that the decision to fire Director Comey was part of a cover-up" unless an independent investigation takes place, Schumer told reporters on Tuesday evening.
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The Nasdaq closed at a record for the third session in a row on Tuesday as volatility held at its lowest level in more than two decades. The tech-heavy index has closed at records 30 times so far this year. Volatility held at its lowest level in more than two decades on Tuesday. The Volatility Index, often referred to as the fear index, was trading at 9.84, its lowest since late 1993.
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Disney (DIS) fell 2% in premarket trading after beating profit estimates, but falling short of revenue forecasts. The world's largest entertainment company earned $1.50 a share, 9 cents above expectations. Sales increased 2.9% to $13.34 billion, coming in $110 million below consensus.
Sales and operating income at Disney's cable-TV group, which includes ESPN and the Disney Channel, fell 3%, as ratings slipped and a new multi-year contract priced at more than $600 million began with the National Basketball Association. Advertising at ESPN fell 1% in the quarter.
Source: TheStreet
