The three major indexes of the New York stock market opened slightly higher on the 26th (local time). Concerns about the independence of the Central Bank appear to have been reignited as President Donald Trump decided to dismiss a Federal Reserve Board member.
As of 10:26 a.m. on that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading at 40,295.97, up 13.5 points (0.03%) from the previous trading day. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 6.53 points (0.1%) to 6,445.86, while the Nasdaq Composite index was up 49.61 points (0.23%) to 21,498.43.
Before the opening of the New York stock market that day, President Trump published a dismissal notice for Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook on his Truth Social account. The released notice stated, "Based on the authority granted to the president by Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution and the amended Federal Reserve Act of 1913, I am dismissing you (Director Cook) from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve."
It also noted, "This will take effect immediately," adding that "the Federal Reserve Act allows the president to dismiss you at his discretion for cause."
In response, Director Cook immediately issued a statement, arguing that "there is no legal basis" and that she would maintain her position.
The market views this as an attempt by President Trump to seize control of the Federal Reserve, showing signs of anxiety. There are concerns that continued disruption of the Federal Reserve could undermine its independence and affect the market.
Shoki Omoro, a senior desk strategist at Mizuho Securities, said, "The Federal Reserve no longer seems to be an independent institution, and the loss of confidence in the Federal Reserve will likely lead to a loss of confidence in the dollar."
Individual securities are generally showing stability. Eli Lilly began trading with a 2% increase early in the session after announcing positive results from its Phase 3 clinical trial for an oral obesity treatment. Semiconductor manufacturing corporations AMD also showed strength in the 1% range due to upward adjustments in target prices by analysts.
Tech giants such as Microsoft, Alphabet A, and Amazon.com have seen slight declines in their stock prices. In contrast, telecommunications company EchoStar's stock surged 77% on news that it sold a wireless frequency license to AT&T.
The market is paying attention to NVIDIA ahead of its second-quarter earnings release. NVIDIA is scheduled to disclose its second-quarter results after the market closes on the 27th (28th in Korean time).
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has brought attention to NVIDIA's future outlook while citing an AI bubble theory. However, it seems that more focus will be on the forecasts rather than the second-quarter results themselves.
The securities market is projecting that NVIDIA will continue to produce strong results this year. However, there is a strong perspective that the growth rate will not match that of the previous year. Mark LaPedus, an analyst at Evercore SIS, forecasted that "NVIDIA's revenue growth rate will hit a low of 50%."
International oil prices are showing weakness. As of the current time, the price of the nearby October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is recorded at $64.11 per barrel, down 1.06% from the previous trading session.